Never as it seems
by Dinloth
Summary: The story of the Tailies in Season 1 seen through multiple perspectives with an addition of a new character. What is her role in the story? Never judge a book by its cover.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello everybody! Here's my attempt at a multi-perspective story with an OFC (who will be introduced in the next chapter) starting with Season 1 and the Tailies. It will be firmly planted within canon but with some twists to spice it all up. Trust me, I promise you no blatant Mary-Sues and I'll do my best to keep the canon characters more or less intact. I'm just an aspiring writer with Polish as her first language. I want to improve and in order to do so I need your help. Please, R&R. Share your thoughts, give me hints or just drool over Sawyer's bare chest ^^**

**All the thanks in the world to an amazingly skilled writer TomBeaumont (.net/u/387710/) who beta-reads for me. Thank you, Tom. I know that it's a bumpy ride with me but be patient :D**

**Sorry for a long a/n. Just enjoy the story.**

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CHAPTER 1

The moment the sea water crashed into her lungs, whatever stores of oxygen Ana had left vanished, along with any traces of logical thinking. Her basic survival instincts kicked in as she found herself unable to avoid swallowing a stomachful of salt water. She struggled against her rising terror to find a way among the blur of objects that seemed to claw at her preventing her from getting to the light. Her lungs erupted with a fresh wave of pain and small dots danced behind her eyes as she forced herself toward the surface, which seemed more and more distant the harder she tried to reach it. She could practically hear the clock ticking down on the remaining seconds of her life. Her already exhausted body was ready to betray her will with every stroke.

Just as panic and fatigue threatened to engulf her completely, she broke through the surface with a desperate cry. Her throat was set aflame with that first gulp of fresh air but she couldn't have cared less, as her body immediately started taking greedy involuntary lungfuls. Then her eyes focused through the waves and took in the utter chaos that spread out before her. It could have been the opening sequence of some overblown Hollywood movie, but this time, she was in the middle of the action.

She looked around, her head still throbbing from the underwater pressure. For the first time in her adult life, she couldn't fully comprehend the enormity of what had happened. Never in her career as a policewoman had anybody mentioned what to do when your air plane decides to land a little early – and for the lack of a better place, chooses the ocean.

She bobbed for a moment to take some calming breaths and try to orient herself with the situation. Golden sand seeped out of the dark jaws of a jungle, forming a beach that wasn't far away. Baggage was strewn across the water, riding the surface. And then, her ears caught screams of horror that were muffled by the sounds of rushing water still present in her head.

There were people around her, she thought. Other survivors. Not all of them were able to scream for help. This was what snapped her out of the stupor. People to save. She started to swim for the shore.

Once at the beach, she escaped the pointlessness of trying to save everybody. Her mind switched to autopilot, blocking out everything besides right here and right now. It was basic police emergency situation training. Scan your surroundings. Make a swift evaluation and quick triage judgements. One deep breath. Ready. Steady. Go.

The first twenty minutes flew by as Ana zig-zagged across the beach, working to calm the terrorized, stabilize the injured and cover the dead. After she finished performing CPR on a young girl who was now coughing up seawater and finally starting to take full, deep breaths, Ana saw a middle-aged man in dark slacks, flat on his back, waking from his shock to let out a heart-ripping scream. "Hey! Can you help me?" Ana cried to a blonde woman she passed as she dashed to the man's aid.

Without a word, the blonde joined her. "I'm Libby," the woman replied.

"Libby. Ana Lucia," she replied.

When the duo reached him, Ana felt a pang of surprise as Libby immediately took over and started to expose the victim's injured leg. There was so much bruising. And blood. Bone could be seen protruding underneath the skin surface. Ana swallowed the lump forming in her throat,forcing her suddenly nauseous stomach into obedience.

"Sir," Ana said, fixing her gaze on his eyes in the hope it would keep him still. "You need to stay calm."

"My leg, oh God, my leg! It – oh God – it hurts!" the man cried, face reddened in anguish. "Please do something, please!"

"Just lay still and take some deep breaths." Ana said.

"Okay," he groaned through tears.

Ana looked over to where Libby had parked herself, half-expecting her to be passed out or frozen in fear. But she wasn't. Libby was studying the injury, cool as a cucumber. She caught Ana's eye and offered a gentle smile, then turned her attention back to the man.

"In all this excitement, I didn't catch your name," Libby said.

"Donald," he said.

"Donald, I'm Libby. That's Ana. Nice to meet you," she said. "Wish it wasn't like this, but still..."

"Yeah," Donald interrupted impatiently. He took another deep breath. "My leg's bad, right?" he asked.

"No, it's not that bad. I broke my leg skiing up at Stowe in Vermont," Libby replied. "Ever been there?"

"No," Donald said.

"I liked it. It's isolated. And the winter winds were pretty bitter. But it's beautiful country – and the slopes are amazing," she said. At that, she was off, launching into a windy tale about finding the perfect powder-and-packed-powder mountainside to test out the skis that her husband had given her two Christmases before.

Ana studied Libby as she spoke, interested, but uneasy. The other woman was spinning a tale with so many details, so much energy. It sounded like an elaborate fantasy, but there was something real in it, buried in the centre. Or perhaps it was all true and only sounded like a fever dream. Only Libby knew.

But it was spellbinding, Ana had admit as she listened to the story along with Donald. It was as she was trying to figure out the point of the whole thing when Libby – with one fluid motion - jerked and twisted the broken leg back into place. Donald screamed and passed out.

Ana bit down her own scream of shock, then turned to Libby, trying not to show the other woman her agitation. "You a doctor?" she asked.

"A year of med school before I dropped out. I'm a clinical psychologist," Libby answered, her face flushed. She searched Ana's expression. "You saved that girl's life – you a doctor?" she continued.

"No," started Ana, but she wassuddenly cut off by another scream for help.

She immediately turned in the direction of the shout and her eyes caught sight of an auburn-haired man speeding out of the jungle. His untucked shirttail flapped its light blue cloth against him as he ran.

"I need some help! There's somebody in the jungle! He's alive," he yelled.

For a split-second, Ana felt a twinge of discomfort about this one. Something was just...off. But there was no time for her to pay attention to that. She disregarded it and instead ran after him into the jungle. _No more victims,_ she thought while running. _Shit. No more. _

The sound of a terrified male scream sharpened her senses and quickened her movements. The blue-shirtted man she'd been following had a good second-and-a-half lead on her, but she caught up to him in relatively short order as he rounded a corner, then slowed to an eventual stop. She found herself next to him as he was bending over, putting his hands on his knees and gasping for breath. He glanced over at her and used his head to gesture toward a nearby tree.

Ana's eyes found an older man sitting in a row of seats suspended from the highest limbs, his seatbelt still buckled. His eyes were wide, his body was rigid, as if he was trying to will himself weightless. When he saw the duo below him, he let out a tired, fearful cry for help.

She assessed the height and the way he was situated. There wasn't enough time to climb the tree, she realized. The odds were better that he'd end up on the ground with a snapped neck before she even managed to make it halfway up.

"We should climb up there - I'll hold him steady, you pull him..." suggested the stranger. A very bad idea but she didn't have the time to explain it. Her own heartbeat already slowed to a crawl. To an inexperienced eye she seemed confused. In reality she was almost painfully focused.

"What's your name?" she yelled to the man trapped on the tree. The clock was against her, but in order for her rapidly-formed rescue plan to have a chance to work, she desperately needed his trust.

"Bernard," he answered, after a moment of hesitation.

_Already started to panic,_ she noted, then forced her voice into the calm-yet-firm tone she used on both victims and criminals.

"You're gonna be alright, Bernard." _God, just let him be alright _"I need you to unbuckle your seatbelt and grab the branch next to you," she said, stressing every word to make sure that he understood.

Bernard's head and neck seemed locked in place, but he seemed to catch on to Ana's instruction. It took a great deal of effort for him to swivel his head mere centimetres to see the branch. As his pale, sweat-drenched face turned, his eyes spotted the ashen corpse fastened snugly to the seat next to him.

His breaths became rapid."Is he dead? I - I think he's dead," he stammered.

"We should climb..." Blue-shirt said. Ana could tell both men were agitated; it was getting harder for her to control the situation.

"No!" she snapped. _Fuck, just focus on the task and let me save __him__! _she thought.

She took a little breath before she spoke to the man in the tree. "I need you to focus, Bernard," she said. _Good.__Use his name, grab his attention. _She then decided that he needed simple orders to follow, directions that were logical. That plus the illusion that she was in charge of the situation was probably the only hope either of them had, she thought. From this point on, his life depended on her instructions and his willingness to follow them."Unbuckle your seatbelt," she pronounced.

Bernard closed his eyes as he took his own deep breath.

_One step at a time_, Ana thought, trying to will him into movement and knowing that she'd put the ball squarely in his court. _Nice and smooth._

Then, with hands trembling, he did exactly what she asked him to do. The plastic and metal connector end of the seatbelt clacked against the side of the seat.

_Good boy. Now the hard part. _"Now grab the branch next to you," she instructed, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"I don't think I can do that," he replied.

She forgot how annoying victims can be, how irritatingly illogical in the face of danger. Her impulse was to fight, to survive, to at least struggle. And theirs was to wait for somebody to do the job for them. What did he want her to do? Grow wings, take him off the tree and cradle him like a baby?

"Bernard, those seats are going to fall," she barked, not feeling the least bit bad about it. _Taking your time is gonna get you dead real quick, pal, so do what I tell you to do. _

This seemed to convince him, because he finally seemed to suck up all of his spare courage and reach for the branch with his quaking hands. Now it was fully up to him.

"Come on, you can do it, Bernard!" she called to him. _Hurry up, I don't need more dead bodies! _The seat shifted suddenly beneath him, becoming even more precarious now.

Bernard, now realizing the danger, still didn't have a firm grip on the branch, so he gritted his teeth and shifted his weight. It looked to Ana that he was trying to spring away from the seat, in an attempt to make one last desperate grab. As he reached out, a sudden and horrible crack split the air.

"Bernard!" she screamed as the seats fell from the sky and slammed into the ground with an awful bang and crash. Her heart skipped a beat as she imagined Bernard's head smashed on the ground. But he wasn't in the wreckage.

Ana looked up again to see a still-frightened Bernard clinging to the sturdy branch she had steered him toward. She exchanged relieved looks with Mr. Blue-shirt, who was shaking his head in disbelief.

She had never wanted a drink more in her life.

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**A/N How did you like it?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Yey! Another chapter and we get to meet my OC :D The rest of characters that you might not know by name are the background Tailies that appeared on the show.**** I re-watched episode 7 from season 2 like million times.**

**Oh, every change in perspective will be marked with **~oo0oo~** so as to avoid confusion. FF seems to refuse double spaces == **

**Again, thank you Tom, for being my beta-reader. ****And thank you all for reviewing. Read, review and enjoy!**

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CHAPTER 2

Nobody appointed Ana the leader of the group, but it was clear that she was in charge. Her assumption of the role was tacit, her leadership was absolute and her decisiveness was greeted with many sighs of relief. Shock and trauma couldn't be erased by the very fact that somebody took responsibility, but one thing could be said for sure: Ana Lucia's strong personality forced people into temporary sanity. It kept them going for the time-being, at least until rescue could come, which would take the responsibility off Ana's ever-tense shoulders.

She wouldn't have admitted it, but in some sense, she found that she enjoyed it. This rush of blood to the egowas mostlyshushed by rationality, yet it lingered, just under the surface. A new chapter of her life had begun – in this part of the story, she wouldn't let anybody get hurt. Not here, not now. Not when she started with a clean sheet of paper. Whatever would happen next in her life – that life away from wherever she was now – was not to be thought about. Until then, she was no longer the broken girl with blood-stained hands, which refused to stop trembling at night, even after a couple of drinks. She was again the woman of duty to the people. A crystal clear knight. She hadn't felt that way about herself in a very long time.

"My bag is there. Not a big one. About this size. Green. My wife chose it. I wanted the grey one, but why argue over a stupid bag, right? Have you seen it?" asked a man Ana had mentally dubbed Teacher, thanks to his thick eyeglasses and mannered speech. She didn't have an answer for him. Not for this and not for the many others that people started to ask her.

It irked her that so many people expected her to know all and see all, but since she was in charge, she had to accept the fact that hearing others out came with the territory. She was glad that her years of working with trauma victims asking odd or crazy or flat-out stupid questions taught her some could still remember a severely burned woman who, while Ana was trying to usher her away from acrime scene, kept asking about her cat, Snowy. She could still hear the woman's choked pleas. Stuff like that stuck in her head forever.

"We need more wood for the fire. Go with...what's your name again?" she said, grabbing a passing man by his elbow. It was a bold move, seeing that she was a head shorterthan him and, judging by the size of his shoulders, definitely weaker. He looked at her with surprise in his eyes. It reminded her of a lunatic shaken from his sleep. "Mr. Eko," he replied curtly. Even the accent suited his physique – rough and somewhat crude.

She wasn't afraid of his bulk. From day one on the job, Ana had dealt with intimidating opponents on the streets; for her own safety, she couldn't afford to come off as weak. So she didn't back down from anyone. It's the key to overpowering, or at least holding your own until help arrives, even the strongest ones – never doubt the power of self-confidence. But this Mr. Eko wasn't a violent alcoholic threatening his teary-eyed wife. There was calmness in his eyes. Calmness and logic. It was exactly what she needed to see at that moment.

Ana crooked a thumb toward Teacher, who was rubbing his bicep and looking around. "Take him with you and gather wood for the fire. Goodwin would appreciate some help," she said. Eko nodded and wordlessly led Teacher in the direction of the ex-Peace Corps volunteer whose blue shirttail had led her to Bernard.

She approached a small group of people sitting on the sand and treating each other's wounds like monkeys grooming each other. The comparison was silly, but it stuck, even though it wasn't that amusing. Those people were scared to death and needed to stick together to maintain the slightest illusion of normality. Being among people felt more natural then staring into the jungle's eyes and imaging what danger might be hidden behind the wall of foreign trees. Miraculously, they survived a plane crash. Even she managed to escape serious injury. The lump on her head was the only mark she had on her.

It seemed that the airplane had selected a group of people to die and picked the other to live in this place. It reminded her of things that elderly aunts would warn about during Sunday dinner: God chooses those that are pure enough to go to heaven and those that won't be given this prize. He definitely made a mistake choosing her as a survivor. She was quite sure that if she ever met God, she would have a lot of nasty things to say.

She gritted her teeth and tried to brush these thoughts aside like dirt off her shoulders. Wallowing in pain is for cry babies, she told herself. And big girls don't cry, right?

"Hi. I'm Ana Lucia," she said to the girl sitting near her. She didn't feel like socializing, but Ana wanted to stop her emotions from flowing too happened, happened. Now she had to deal with the situation at hand.

The girl's eyes held pain and fear as she watched the ocean lick the sand. But when she finally locked her blue eyes onto Ana's, she smiled. "Samantha. Nice to meet you," said the girl almost cheerfully.

So young, Ana thought. Too young to be stuck here._ 17, maybe. Definitely under 20. Probably still in shock, _she judged. Ana's eyes took in the girl's appearance. There were bruises all over her skinny form. Streaks of tangled wet hair covered clung to her cheeks. Ana thought she looked like a kitten retrieved from a washing machine.

"Were you on your own? Travelling, I mean," Ana inquired. Samantha's eyes immediately moved to the ocean. Ana's heart sunk. _Think before opening that mouth of yours, for fuck's sake, Cortez,_ she thought.

Samantha was very quiet for a moment, then said, rather plaintively, "I'm not a good swimmer."

_She wanted to change the subject, _Ana thought._ Good for me._

"My dad used to say that it's because of a wrong breathing pattern or something. Maybe he was right. It doesn't really matter," Samantha mused.

Ana didn't quite know what to say to that. "It's alright. It's gonna be alright," she said, trying to sound comforting. Then she watched as Samantha's strange smile reappeared and spread across her face, lighting up her features.

"Are you alright?" asked the girl, without averting her attention from the waves.

_A very good question,_ Ana thought. Was she?

Libby's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hey! Ana, right?" she heard her partner in leg-setting call. Immediately, she returned to on-duty mode, as she furrowed her eyebrows and nodded at the woman who was crossing the sand toward her.

"You think we should gather the bags, maybe find some food and water? It won't be long until nightfall," Libby said.

Ana felt a warm spark in her stomach._Finally__,__ somebody to rely on._ She could have kicked herself for not thinking about the supplies, though. Of course people would need something to eat by now, even if they were more interested in findingtheir belongings than in the basic needs of a plane crash survivor. Hunger was trivial in the short-term when lives were in the balance. A rumble built in her own stomach, as if to say, "I told you so."

"Would you take charge of that?" she asked softly. Libby nodded, then started toward the group that was working on the fire pit, ready to siphon a few of them to her project. Ana had to admire her. She had the airs of a woman in charge.

A moment later, Eko and Teacher returned from the jungle, hauling a fairly large pile of branches. Ana stepped in for the clearly-exhausted Teacher and helped Eko make his way to the pit. She made sure that the fire was far away from the extinguishing waves but not too close to the sinister blackness of the jungle. The sun was setting and the winds were starting to come off the ocean, so Ana knew they would all need some warmth right away. The stewardess she'd met earlier – Cindy – was taking care of the kids.

It hurt Ana to look at them. Children are the worst to watch suffer. What's the point if the kids are miserable and hurting? It wentagainst every good and decent thing that Ana believed in once upon a time. She closed her eyes, shutting them out. One single gunshot can throw your whole view on life into garbage.

She reopened her eyes and watched as most of the groupspent their last few hours awake sitting around the fire, staring blankly into the flames, likely too tired to talk or walk or think any more today. Tomorrow was nipping at their heels and she was glad that at least they had nothing else to do right now in this God-forsaken place.

_Open up! _thought Tyler as he tried to smash open a coconut against a pointed stick. His stomach grumbled in unison. He was hungry, frustrated and couldn't stop thinking about the comfy life he left behind in Sydney. _I should have stayed there, called Amy and said: "Sorry, sweetheart, but I need some extra days to rest." Man, how I wish I was back in Persephone, _he mused bitterly. The man sitting next to him wasn't a chatterbox. Not that it bothered him; he preferred the silence. Plus, the guy with the badly-injured leg stopped moaning a while ago and he didn't want him to wake up any time soon.

Tyler took one more swing, mostly out of stubbornness, and that little bit of extra force did the trick. The flesh of the coconut finally split apart, spilling a bit of its precious water on to the front of his canary-yellow t-shirt. He let out a victorious chortle, then eagerly started to drink from the fruit. He thought that somebody had called out to him, but he was too busy quenching the burning thirst to be bothered by anything.

And then the person who owned the voice he had thought he'd heard was over his shoulder. "I'm talking to you, yellow-shirt guy! Do you have more of these?"

Tyler finally averted his gaze from the almost empty coconut and looked at the person speaking to him. _This lunatic obsessed over his green bag? Peachy. _

"Yeah, I do. But if you think that I'm gonna break them for you..." he started. His arms were already aching from the first coconut. Okay, he might have been letting himself getout of shape recently, but he had the best vacation ever in Australia and was feeling pretty damn good about himself.

"Jim! Could you break some for the kids?" the blonde doctor chipped in. _What for? The first ray of sunshine brings the rescue team and hasta la vista sand, _Tyler thought while giving Jim some of the coconuts he gathered on his own. Probably, he wouldn't need any of them. _Rescue is already on the way._

Finally, Morpheus showed pity and let fatigue take over the survivors. Sleep came, but it was restless and uncomfortable, more like losing consciousness for a couple of hours than actual slumber.

Sudden noise knifed through the night. Ana leapt from her spot and searched for its source. It seemed so illusory. Like a part of a nightmare. But the chill she felt was real.

Eyes snapped open as the sound repeated. Ana and a startled Goodwin ran to the jungle. The rest stayed behind waiting for the news. They were focused on every new sound and tried to recognise the source. Could it have been an animal? Maybe somebody got hurt? They replayed questions in their heads.

Samantha's eyes stayed shut. She wasn't sleeping, though; in fact,she hadn't slept at stayed where she was, her back to the other survivors._What to do? What to do? _she thought frantically. She clung to her racing heart with trembling hands. Using the repeated question as mantra, after a couple of hours, her organism finally gave up and she fell asleep.

Somehow in the swirl of confusion and panic, no one noticed.

A/N I decided to do something fun. I've seen it done in another fic and thought it was a brilliant idea :D At the end of every chapter I'll put a little funny version of a scene from the section. Might be little drastic XD What you think about it?

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~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

From chapter 1

"In all this excitement, I didn't catch your name," Libby said.

"Donald," he said.

"Donald, I'm Libby. That's Ana. Nice to meet you," she said. "Wish it wasn't like this, but still..."

"Yeah," Donald interrupted impatiently. He took another deep breath. "My leg's bad, right?" he asked.

"No, it's not bad. I would rather say it's devastatingly awful. Just look at this shit! All mushy and tangled. I think those may be your nerves. Nasty shit. The pain you feel right now is like a kiss to a cheek compared to what touching one of those noodles can do to you. I'll start tampering with them and you be praying for me to off you. And don't let me start on this bone, mister. That hurts like hell!" Libby replied jovially. "Ever been there? Once I finish with you, you'll very much feel like being there."

Donald switched off the lights in his head and promptly lost consciousness.

From chapter 2

"My bag is there. Not a big one. About this size. Green. My wife chose it. I wanted the grey one, but why argue over a stupid bag, right? Have you seen it?" asked a man Ana had mentally dubbed Teacher, thanks to his thick eyeglasses and mannered speech. She didn't have an answer for him. Not for this and not for the many others that people started to ask her.

Just before she had the chance to say something, Eko appeared out of the blue and piped in:

"Green bag? With a leather handle?"

Teacher bobbed his head: "That's the one! You found it?"

"Here it is, pal," Eko replied and presented the bag. An arm of the previous owner was still clutching the handle. Teacher's eyes glazed with tears.

"It's my bag!" he exclaimed with joy and jumped a little. He noticed the bloody limb attached to it. "What's that?"

"Rigor mortis. It's your wife's judging by the wedding ring," Eko shrugged.

"She just couldn't let go. Always a bitch," concluded Teacher and they both laughed earnestly.

Ana watched them go with her jaw lying on the sand.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Thank you for reading everybody. Special thanks to my amazing reviewers. I appreciate the support.**

**Again, thank you, Tom for beta-reading this chapter. It makes hell of a difference. **

**Again, tell me what you think! This chapter is a bit shorter. Sorry for that ==**

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CHAPTER 3

_He opened the door slightly and peeked in. Nobody was there. He took three calming breaths and entered. Excitement spread through him amidst__ all the dust and spider webs. Only a few things in the world scared him more than spiders. _

_The creak of the floorboards raised little hairs on his neck. He slowed down and began to walk on tiptoes. In the back of his mind, he knew it was silly. The dilapidated house was empty. It had to be empty. But his heart fluttering in the chest said otherwise. In a way, he anticipated some sinister figure lurking in the shadows. His father threatened to ground him until the end of the world if he even went to this house. He didn't want to get in trouble, but the very fact that right now he was doing something against the rules and his father was nowhere to be seen, thrilled him to no end. _

_He scanned the corridor and noticed half-open door leading to one of the rooms opposite to the roomy living room. Hinges looked ready to fall into pieces any minute soon. Luckily, for him they managed to carry the weight of the wooden door for some more time and he entered the room. There was something strange about it. Yellowish wallpaper flaked __off the walls.__ Something made of slim wooden bars and a mattress laid upside down in the right corner. He looked to the floor and noticed a white and fluffy object lying in front of him. Fighting with his fear of anything dirty, fear that his mother successfully drilled into his head, he crouched and analysed the object. A toy. A plush polar bear. So it used to be a kid's room. The thing lying in the corner had to be a crib. _

_Next to the window, among old newspapers and other unidentifiable garbage he saw a large armchair. With the stuffed animal in his hand, he wiped everything off the armchair and nestled down in clutching the toy to his chest and resting his head on his tucked knees. Weird calmness took over him. This alien feeling got him off guard. Like being hit right in the head. For the moment, you don't know what happened. He felt exactly like that. In his whole 12-year-old life, he hasn't experienced anything even remotely similar. An adult would find the right words to describe it - "feeling safe." But for the little boy, this feeling seemed alien. He heard those words before but they were like the words the teachers say – empty, shapeless. In this moment, he decided that he would visit this place as often as he could. He would never tell anybody about it. Truth __be told__, he doubted that anybody would bother to ask him anyway. Some of the teachers already thought he was dumb. They didn't understand. Nobody understood. _

_He stood up and looked through the dirty window. It was almost impossible to see anything. He wanted to mark his territory. Show that this room is his and only his. And anybody who enters it without his permission will suffer. Fear gripped his throat at the very thought that one of his classmates would see him in a baby's room. There would be gossip and laughs. The teachers would find out and call his parents. They wouldn't allow him to go there any more. Nobody would order him around. This room was the only place that gave him this strange yet very pleasant feeling. He started to write with his finger on the dirty glass "NATHAN." It was only his name, but it felt really good to have some personal note in this room. _

_Now it was his room. _

Events of the night had great impact on all the survivors and Nathan was no exception. Though he never considered himself to be a coward, facing the unknown danger lurking in the depths of the jungle filled him with primal fear. _You're 28 for God's sake. Check who's missing. Make __yourself__ useful,_ he instructed himself but found the task to be easier said than done. He was a lone wolf, a freelancer as he viewed himself, so it was no surprise that he wasn't even able to figure out if anybody had been kidnapped. Luckily for him, there were other people he could ask for information. After some nervous conversations with the fellow survivors they were able to establish that three people were missing. _How the hell did that happen? What is this place?_ He immediately went to inform the others.

"Look, three of the people are missing - the blond guy, the curly-haired guy and the German who was helping us with the injured," he said to the small group gathered around the bodies. This black giant did a great job.

"Did you see anything?" asked the Latina chick.

"No, I didn't," Nathan said.

"Where did they come from? How many there were?" she continued.

He gritted his teeth but refused to show how much those questions angered him. "I just told you I didn't see do you think these people are?" he fired back. _Do __you__ know, Miss I'm-the-one-in-control-here? Do you enjoy being interrogated? _he thought sarcastically.

"I don't know," she replied coolly."They're out here in the jungle with no shoes, nothing in their pockets, no labels on their clothes. These people were here before us." She seemed unfazed by his question, which didn't help his already simmering rage. _Breathe. Just breathe, _he said to himself. _Shut it __in,__ just like you always do. _

"We've got to do something," she continued and _led _the whole group to meet the rest of the survivors. Just as he expected. They all waited for her to explain the situation and make a decision for them. How comfortable for her. They practically begged her to be in control. But he wasn't about to let her get away with it. He refused to be a sheep led by this self-proclaimed shepherd.

When Ana got everybody's attention she started to speak. "We need to get off the beach. We need to find a safer place."

Nathan pounced. "We've got kids and people that are seriously hurt. Where are we going to go? How are we going to move them? And what about the signal fire? How are we going to get rescued if we're off the beach?"Once he'd finished bombarding her, he noted with pleasure how her eyes gleamed with irritation. _Bingo, baby, _he mused happily.

"Nathan's right," said a guy wearing a blue shirt. Did he introduce himself to him? He couldn't really remember. That didn't really matter right now. As long as he was an ally against Ana, he was fine.

"They have satellites - the black box - we don't need a fire for them to find us," stated Ana with anger evident in her voice. That woman was stubborn as a mule.

Before Nathan could retort, the stewardess piped up, "Yes, we do. Before the crash, the pilot said we'd lost communication; we were turning back. We were flying for two hours in the wrong direction. They don't know where to look."

Immediately, he forgot about the satisfaction from winning the argument with Ana. He felt coldness in the pit of his stomach. His old friend, fear, came back.

The next day was as stifling-hot as the previous one, but people seemed to experience it far worse. Hope slipped through their fingers just like the omnipresent sand. To keep his hands busy and keep his mind away from the looming dread, Nathan rummaged through a bag he found next to a corpse. He quickly managed to find a pack of crackers, a bottle of aspirin and a couple of foil-bagged Playboy magazines from the late Seventies. The dead guy probably had been a collector, he figured, noting that the pictures hadn't yellowed or faded over the years. The image of Miss July 1978 in particular, he thought.

Nathan tugged a pile of clothes from the bag, but it turned out that they were nothing he could red sweater and loose jeans would have to suffice for the time being. He put the clothes inside again and instead, started to eat the crackers. His mind turned to the kids. They would most likely appreciate a snack like that. He just hoped that the nosy Latina chick wasn't around. Fortunately, he met the kids sitting with the stewardess. They stopped talking when he approached them.

"Want some?" he asked, offering the girl's eyes lit up a bit and she took a cracker with a shy "Thank you, sir."

The boy – after a moment of hesitation – did the same. Nathan moved his eyes to the stewardess – Cindy, as far as he remembered. He wasn't eager to share with anybody else but the children. She looked at him and declined. Something in her eyes told him that she didn't trust him. Nathan had one guess as to why.

_Damnbitchtalksbehindmyback__,_he thought, angrily glancing at Ana. _One day, she'll pay. _He wanted to be left alone without people staring at his back. He stalked off toward the jungle. Lost in thought, he forgot for a moment about the dangers lurking there. After half an hour of walking, he found a small clearing. Trees were dense here, so nobody could see him from the beach. A place just for him. This definitely felt familiar. He sat under the biggest tree and took in his surroundings, sipping the familiar calmness that settled within him.

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Ana works for CSI 

Ana was standing next to the bodies, hands on her hips, and looking to her left.

"What we have here, Goodwin" she asked. Goodwin was kneeling on one knee next to a female body. He frowned appearing to be deep in thought.

" Female, Caucasian. Signs of fighting. She has blood under her nails and some skin. The second one…"he indicated the second body with his head "is male, Caucasian. The same signs of fighting."

"Cause of death?" asked Ana in the serious tone. Her eyes were still distantly watching something on her left. Goodwin raked his fingers through his hair before answering.

"Not sure. But judging by the holes in their heads and heavy bleeding, they must have been hit repeatedly with a blunt object, most probably a stone."

Mr. Eko, who was standing near the crime scene, wailed pathetically and wiped his running nose on the blood stained collar of his shirt. Nobody seemed to pay attention to him.  
Ana reached to her pocket, pulled out her shades and put them on with a serious expression on her face.

"Looks like someone got stoned," she said and walked away. David Caruso style.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Yuppie! Chapter 4 has just arrived :D We have a bit more about Samantha and a brand new character mentioned on the show by name but never appeared on the screen. Do you know what happened to him on the show? I'm not sure yet whether to follow the canon with him or not. We'll see :D Thank you my readers, my loyal friend LostInLost18and my fantastic reviewer ****GwenCooper92. **

**All the other lurkers out there and new readers, please leave even the shortest of reviews to let me know what you think. Enjoy the story!**

**Tom Beaumont was as kind as to beta-read this chappie for me. Thank you.**

* * *

CHAPTER 4

"Aren't you uncomfortable in that dress?" said a male voice that seemed to materialize right behind Samantha.

"Huh?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts and looking around. The man she found behind her was 25 at most. She eyed him with interest and smiled warmly. The look on his face told her that she was expected to do something else. She wasn't quite sure what exactly.

"Your dress. It looks mighty uncomfortable," he said, frowning slightly. He instantly regretted talking to her in the first place. This whole situation was awkward.

She looked down at her short floral dress. "Oh. Yeah, it is slightly irritating," she said, smiling again, happy that she finally understood him.

"Samantha," she said brightly, extending her hand.

_So strange, _he thought. One moment she seemed mute and then switched the pesky mode on. He seemed taken aback, but accepted her hand.

"Eli. Eli Levinson," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. She kept looking at him with her big, eerie eyes. "So whatcha doing, girl?" he asked to break the uncomfortable silence, while he nodded at the piece of cloth in her hand.

She followed his gaze and answered, "I want to soak it for Irma. She has a fever."

"Irma?" he started. He knew Libby, Brandon, Tyler and Goodwin. The others were just faces.

"The older woman…in the green sweater...the one with a gash in her side," she explained patiently.

"I thought she was unconscious. How do you know her name?"

"She had a wallet with her."

He nodded and then they both went to the ocean to soak the piece of clothing. She went first, giving him the chance to observe her legs. A bit too skinny for his usual tastes, he judged but she was the only girl here that was around his age. Well, that was his guess at least.

The lady cop was also nice-looking – but he preferred blondes. Besides, she didn't look like somebody interested in any romances any time soon. Samantha bent down to wet the cloth and seemed oblivious to Eli's eyes roaming her shape. _I take back my words. __That__ dress is perfect, _he thought, smirking.

Eli trailed Samantha back to Libby and the woman lying under a tree. The unconscious woman's skin was ashen and glistened with sweat.

"Thanks, Sam. I appreciate it." said Libby as she took the wet cloth from Samantha. She folded it twice and put it on Irma's forehead. Again, Eli felt out of place. His eyes couldn't miss the makeshift bandage and the crimson patch on it. He never felt good near blood.

"Erm...I'd better go. See you around, Libby," he said to the shrink. He really liked her. She was the first person he met after the crash. He was grateful that she volunteered to care for the cuts on his back, even when he screamed at earnest as she sprayed them with that awful airplane vodka. "Samantha," he nodded to the blonde girl. She lifted her head to look at him and brightened up.

"Bye, Eli," she replied brightly and watched him go.

~oo0oo~

Goodwin volunteered to look for mangoes. He asked if anybody would come with him, but morale was getting lower every day. Most of the people were either injured, busy taking care of the injured, doing nothing in particular or doing everything just to have something to do. He knew he had to make this trip into the jungle as brief as possible to prevent suspicion.

Ana seemed to trust him. Having the leader on his side was vital, so he was glad that he chose wisely after reaching the beach. It might seem that the doctor would be an instant leader, but Ana didn't really have to do anything to create an aura of dictatorship around her. Most of them trusted her blindly. Luckily for him, they weren't eager to change anything, so even Ana couldn't have talked them into leaving the beach.

Goodwin stopped at the usual meeting place and waited. Even though he expected it, the rustle of the trees beside him made him jump a little.

"Shit! You really like to do that, don't ya?" he said.

"How could I refuse myself the pleasure of seeing your scared face?"teased the man coming from behind the tree. He had the face of a handsome rogue along with a slight smirk and messy black hair. The whole playful look was distorted by ragged clothes he wore.

"Do you have it?" he asked. Goodwin nodded, took a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the man, who skimmed through it. "22? That's quite of a group you got there," he said frowning.

"Yeah, one hell of a bunch of Merry Men. It took me some time to gather info on all of them," Goodwin answered bitterly. "It's like walking barefoot through broken glass." Survivors weren't eager to share their stories with him and he had to be delicate so as to not rise any suspicions. Even a shadow of doubt in Ana's eyes could cost him dearly.

"Yeah, you got to be careful. I never liked Russell. But Lynde? That's nasty," the man said, practically revelling in how fucked up the whole situation already was.

"I know. Eko was a hasty decision. But now I have the whole list**_, _**so Jacob can analyse it freely," he explained. He wasn't sure whether he really believed that nobody else would die.

"And what about…" the man started, but let the continuation hang in the air. Goodwin let out an exasperated sigh. He knew exactly what the question was**_, _**but he didn't have an answer. Ben gave him an important task and he wasn't going to fail – even though he felt like he didn't have enough tools to perform it.

"I don't see how it's your business," he almost snarled.

"Chill. Just curious," laughed the man.

"How's the front section doing?" Goodwin asked. He wanted to change the subject as soon as possible to avoid further questions.

"Well, it's definitely calmer there. Ethan fit in easily and it seems that nobody from us got hurt so far." After seeing Goodwin's sour face, he added, "But if it'll make you feel better, he still doesn't have a list and Ben's growing impatient. You did great job here, man." He hid the piece of paper in his bag.

Goodwin wanted to ask him more about Ethan. Even more importantly, he wanted to know about Juliet. He just hoped she was doing okay without him.

"I better be going. Mangoes for dinner. Yay," he mock-cheered.

The man snickered."Lucky bastard. I'll just have to stick to boars."

They bid each other short goodbyes and Goodwin marched toward the survivor's camp. Along the way, he gathered mangoes from a stash he kept near the meeting place – he couldn't very well return without them – and reappeared on the hot sand of the beach.

On his way, he passed poor Irma, dying slowly but surely underneath a tree. Samantha sat next to her and held her limp hand in hers. Goodwin glanced at the girl and their eyes met. He smiled at her and, after a pause, she smiled meekly before moving her gaze to Irma.

~oo0oo~

As Goodwin moved further away, she relaxed a bit. There was no way she would get over the influence this guy had over her.

"Goodwin has mangoes. You should eat something and I'll stay with her. Donald's asleep," said Libby, who returned from her search for antibiotics empty-handed, except for a newly-discovered full bottle of ibuprofen tablets, which did as much good against creeping, deadly infections as wishing upon a star did.

"Thank you, Libby," she said. The female doctor was the very opposite of Goodwin. She made Samantha feel completely at ease.

"Want some?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine. I've already eaten. Go now. You already look starved," she urged the young girl. Samantha finally stood up, but instead of going to Goodwin, she chose to see Tyler and nag him for a coconut or some bananas. The man seemed scared to talk with her, so it was fairly easy to get food from him. After a successful mission of making Tyler uncomfortable with her cheerfulness, she took her prize and headed straight to Mr. Eko, who sat apart from the other survivors.

He didn't seem to be interested in her presence, but she didn't really expect him to be. She sat next to him and followed his gaze to the waves. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The damp air was salty on her tongue.

"Have some water," she said and handed him a half of a coconut filled with water. The giant shifted a little. She waited patiently with an extended hand, like a animal trainer waiting for a tiger to come closer so she could tame it. Her hand began to tremble a little from the weight of the fruit.

Mr. Eko glanced at her wrist covered in fading marks that once were bruises. A strange thought crossed his mind. The marks formed a strange pattern on her skin. Almost like a handprint. He shook it off and took the coconut from her. They both drank silently and stared into the anxious ocean. He returned the fruit, with a small nod indicating his gratitude.

She smiled brightly at him, understanding his message clearly. She put both parts of the coconut next to her. Eating in front of Mr. Eko was out of the question. That would be cruel.

After a couple of minutes, an idea popped in her head. She glanced at him somewhat nervously and bit her lip. Was it okay? Could she really? Would he be mad at her? But she wanted to do it so much. Her thoughts were chaotic as she contemplated her next move.

He felt her uneasiness and looked at her. She lit with a radiant shade of red which made him even more curious. She shifted her gaze, seeming to have some internal struggle.

"Oh, shoot. Here it comes," she muttered under her breath and did the last thing he could have expected – she hugged him. Not just with her arms around him. She glued her whole upper body to his sunburned torso and sneaked her arms around his neck.

He stiffened for a second with his arms raised in mid-air, as if his body was trapped between protesting and hugging her back. After a moment of hesitation, he chose the latter.

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Goodwin's "Plotting techniques for dummies Vol 1"

They bid each other short goodbyes and Goodwin marched toward the survivor's camp. Along the way, he gathered mangoes from a stash he kept near the meeting place – he couldn't very well return without them – and reappeared on the hot sand of the beach.

On his way, he passed poor Irma, dying slowly but surely underneath a tree. Samantha sat next to her and held her limp hand in hers. Goodwin glanced at the girl and their eyes met. He froze and felt cold sweat all over his body.

"I..I went for mangoes. See? They're right here," he blurted out and presented the girl with the fruit.

"Just mangoes. Nothing suspicious. I went for mangoes. It's what people do, right? They stand up and head towards the jungle to find some mangoes. Perfectly normal, " he could feel his hands shaking.

"No plotting behind your backs. I do it all the time. I mean going for mangoes and not the plotting! I'm not an enemy! I mean, I don't even know how to plot an evil scheme. Ben does it, " he said and added quickly " Ben the old lady. My aunt from Florida. Ben as in Benthilda. It reminds me of this funny story when Juliet told me that her stockings were missing and that she had some suspicions..."he laughed but Samantha just stared him down unblinkingly.

"I just went for mangoes," he finished and backed away.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N With this chapter I tried to focus a bit more on Samantha. Not much action but I think it's important to show the characters in different situations to make them more believable. I would say that this chapter perfectly summarizes Sam's personality. What do you think of the hints/traps I left? There's definitley something about this girl that isn't right :D **

**This chapter has been checked by How Like a Winter, who agreed to be my beta-reader. Tom is very busy recently. He's done great job this far and I'm sure that with How Like a Winter it will be just as great. Thank you :***

**Again, thank you LostInLost18. Your constant support keeps me going. All the others, please R&R if you wish for quicker updates ^^ I need my carrot! LOL  
**

CHAPTER 5

The dim light provided by the fire brought little comfort to the survivors. The impenetrable darkness of the jungle seemed to wait for them to lay down their defences and strike. Three nameless bodies buried in the sand reminded them that they cannot feel safe anymore. Although their minds were on the overdrive, their bodies screamed for the comfort of their makeshift beds so one by one they fell asleep. Ana and Brandon, the basketball player, volunteered to have the first watch. He would have felt better with something at least resembling a weapon but no such luck. He raked his fingers through his crew cut and looked at his hand. He balled it into a fist and watched his toned muscles flex underneath the skin. _Don't make me laugh, Braddy boy. Sure you can play some ball but fight anybody? What you're gonna do when attacked? Huh? Treat them with some crossovers and a layup?_ his own thoughts didn't amuse him. Instead cold fear crept up his spine, tightened its invisible hands on his throat threatening to suffocate him.

"You think they are going to attack us tonight?" he whispered to Ana. He licked his lips and strained his eyes to make out shapes among the trees.

"No," Ana replied matter-of-factly and he shot her a shocking look.

"Are you sure?" he urged and was rewarded with a small nod from Ana. "So why the hell are we sitting here like idiots?" he growled but tried to keep his voice low.

Ana didn't reply but just looked behind her. He followed his gaze and looked at the group of sleeping people. Apart from the soft moans of Donald, the man with a broken leg, everything was quiet.

"Wha.."started Brandon not really comprehending Ana's point.

"They need to think they're safe," she interrupted him sharply and fell silent again. Brandon looked at her with respect. _Wait a sec. Did she just say 'think'?, _he mused. Sudden scream ripened the stillness of the camp. Brandon jumped to his feet feeling his body tense almost painfully. His eyes were all over the place looking for the source of the noise. A few people also woke up but it was Libby who first fought the drowsiness and recognised the voice.

"It's okay! Everything is alright. It's Irma. She regained consciousness again. Go to sleep," announced Libby as she made her way towards the lying woman. Brandon left out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. _It was just Irma. Just Irma. Stop acting like a big baby, _he laughed weakly and slumped next to Ana. He noticed with awe that she didn't even change her position.

~oo0oo~

Libby approached Irma, who was gasping for air with her eyes wide open in alarm.

"It's okay. I'm here," she cooed to the woman while checking her vitals. There wasn't much she could do. She put a hand on Irma's forehead and winced. The fever returned. The gash was infected and probably had some pieces of metal inside but she was no surgeon. It wouldn't be long before the exhausted organism gave in. A couple of hours at most.

"Is she awake?" whispered Samantha and carefully crouched besides the psychiatrist. Libby looked at her sadly.

"I wouldn't say that. She's more like in between. But I think that she can hear us," she explained to the younger girl. Samantha frowned and held Irma's hand squeezing it reassuringly. Libby used this occasion to observe the girl. Firelight danced on Sam's face adding ethereal features to it. She was pretty, as much could be gathered from men's looks the girl received. The deep v dress showed off her long slender neck. There wasn't much happening in the chest area but her long legs and small waist easily compensated it. _ She seems to be a good kid. Those eyes... You could drown in those azure doe eyes of hers. There's something dangerous in them, _she mused. The girl fascinated and unnerved her at the same time.

"There's nothing we can do. Try getting some sleep," she suggested patting the Samantha's shoulder and heading towards her place near the fire. While lying down, she glanced at Sam and noted that the girl decided to stay with Irma through the night.

~oo0oo~

Samantha watched as the shape of Irma's body started to disappear under the heaps of sand. She forced herself to watch and engraved the image into her head, let it fill her up, make her harder. She stayed rooted in the place next to Mr Eko while Brandon and Goodwin were digging. Sweat oozed from the diggers bodies in large droplets. The excruciating heat made their job Herculean.

Nobody uttered a single word because there was really nothing to be said. For the survivors Irma had been just one of the other four people who were seriously injured in the crash. Among them Donald seemed to be the one with the greatest chance of surviving. Libby set his leg so it was now up to nature to heal it. Others weren't so lucky. They needed either complicated surgery or a miracle.

Life had to get back to the usual crawl. Slowly, survivors left the grave and returned to their own problems. _Is the help on the way? How long can we live like this? The people from the jungle can kill us any time. What about tropical diseases? _they asked themselves not aware of the fact that wallowing in depression slimmed the chances of survival they already had.

Sam looked at the kids as they passed her with Cindy by their side. The stewardess was always there to care for them. Samantha wanted to do something, anything to make those kids' eyes sparkle again.

A few hours later, while sitting in the shadow with bananas as dinner, she finally got an idea. Without second thought she leaped to her feet and briskly moved towards Eli who was unsuccessfully trying to catch a fish with a stick.

~oo0oo~

"Eli!" she called him happily. He turned around surprised to see Samantha running in his direction waving at him with both hands.

"What's up? No fish if that's what you're after," he sighed but she shook her head and took his arm leading him away. He was caught off guard and let her drag him too surprised to protest. He finally found his tongue as she let go off his arm and started to rummage through a large bag.

After a moment of silence he asked with his eyebrows rose "Care to explain?"

"Can I have your belt?" she replied with a question. His jaw almost hit the ground.

"I want to make a ball," she explained, and looked at him like it was the most obvious thing possible. She started to form a small bundle from clothes she found in the bag. She was careful to choose something made of a heavier material but without any metal elements. Eli closed his mouth tight and looked with bewilderment at the girl's work. When she finished forming a shape out of a thick sweater that was now remotely similar to a ball, she looked at Eli expectantly. He blinked. The idea was ridiculous and completely out of place but so was the girl. He was curious what she was up to. Not that he had anything more interesting to do anyway.

"My belt won't keep the sweater together," he offered. Her face fell rapidly. He got an odd feeling that she was somewhat mentally unstable. Most of the girls were as far as he could tell. After a short pause he sighed in defeat.

"Alright. Let me try something else," he said and took the tangled sweater. Scanning the clothes that Sam took from the bag, he picked a white shirt and spread it on the sand with one hand and put the sweater in the middle of it with the other. He secured the sweater inside the shirt as he tried to tie the shirt's long sleeves around the whole piece. He tugged loose strands of material inside and used a lace from the hood he found in the bag to tie the makeshift ball even tighter. Sam watched in awe as Eli skilfully weighed the ball in his hands.

"It's too light. We need something heavy to put inside," he judged and scanned his surrounding in search of something suitable for the task.

"I think it'll work just fine as it is," Sam interrupted his thoughts. Immediately, he remembered that he had just made a ball out of clothes while on a stranded island and blushed furiously. _When the help comes they'll see us playing dodge ball. Wonderful,_ he thought sarcastically.

"May I?" she asked indicating the ball with her head. He snapped out of his musings and gave her the ball. She took it and left him unceremoniously. _I'll never get used to her behaviour_, he thought and trailed her out of genuine curiosity.

He watched as she approached the kids sitting with Cindy under the tree.

"Wanna come with me? I have a great game in mind," Sam offered with a smile. The kids nodded in unison and Cindy watched them go with her mouth half open. She would never think about entertaining the kids. Not when she was far too busy with her own depression.

Eli joined Sam and the whole group moved to the far end of the camp.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

A sharp question made the group stop in their tracks. They spotted Ana on their right coming from the jungle with Tylor slightly behind her.

"Where are you going?" she repeated the question and reprimanded them "It's not safe to wander off on your own."

Eli blushed against his will. Ana looked angry and the whole situation was absurd. Samantha on the other hand didn't look taken aback in the least.

"Do you want to join us? There's plenty room for more players," she said. Anna eyed the small group surprised to see Eli. He struck her as a down to earth boy. Quite the opposite of the spaced out girl.

"We won't go far," Emma, one of the kids, promised sheepishly. She trusted Ana since she saved her life with a CPR. She was sure that the woman was a good.

"Fine, but I want to be able to see you from here," Ana finally agreed and gave Eli and Sam meaningful glances saying _Watch out for them_.

Sam led the group even farther away but still with the camp in sight. She searched the ground for a stick and when she found one started to form a large circle in the sand and divided it into four even parts. Eli and the kids watched her move with sceptic expressions. They didn't know any game that included a circle like this size. It was far too big for hopscotch.

"What are you waiting for? Get your sticks" she said to them.

"Eee… We're not familiar with the game," explained Eli.

"Oh, it's easy! Just take some sticks" she instructed them. The kids seemed pretty excited but Eli began to regret taking part in it. When all of them collected their sticks, Samantha started to explain the rules of the game.

"Okay. The game is called The Countries. This is Earth," she said pointing with her stick to the circle. "Each of you gets an even part and picks a name of the country. Then, one person, preferably me, starts the game with throwing the ball high in the air and screaming the name of a country at the same time. The person who owns this country has to catch the ball while the rest of us runs as fast as we can. When the called person catches the ball, he shouts STOP and we all have to stop. Then, he can make three steps in the chosen direction and has to try to hit somebody with the ball. If he misses or the person catches the ball, the person he was trying to hit gets to take a part of his country. If he manages to hit this person, he can get a part of this person's country."

"How much can he take?" asked Emma's brother who seemed to grasp the idea of the game very quickly and was excited to start playing.

"Well, it's really up to him but it's much about planning. The person might want to take revenge and take a big part of your country next time he wins. So it's better to take smaller parts" clarified Sam.

"Everybody understood?" she inquired. Emma screamed "Yes!" with enthusiasm while Eli stood grimly.

"I'll be France. What's your choice Zach?" asked Sam.

"America!" the boy shouted. Emma seemed disappointed as she wanted to pick the same country.

"So I'll be Germany, like aunt Claudia" decided Emma and looked at Eli, waiting for his selection so they could start the game.

"Australia?" he suggested meekly. _Is it really happening?_ he asked himself._ It's the sun. I probably have sunstroke. _

Following Samantha's example they wrote the countries' names on their parts of the circle and lied down their sticks. Sam eyed the group before her to intensify the tension and suddenly threw the ball in the air with a loud scream "AUSTRALIA!" and started to run like a banshee throwing her hands in the air. Eli reacted on instinct as he run for the ball. Adrenaline rushed in his ears as he yelled "STOP!". The rest stopped immediately. Sam was the farthest away with Zach while Emma was a bit late trying to figure out what country she was. Eli wasn't quite sure what to do next.

"You can make three steps and then you have to hit somebody!" screamed Sam noticing his confusion. He looked at the ball and than at Emma and smiled crookedly at her. The girl squealed as Eli took three steps in her direction and took his aim. At the last second she bent and Eli's shot missed the target. She made a small dance of victory and Zach ran to her to do the dance with her. Eli glanced at Samantha but she wasn't looking at him. Her gaze was focused on the kids. He felt Goosebumps forming on his forearms. Something was terribly wrong.

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Night's rest – not for kids

Sudden scream ripened the stillness of the camp. Brandon jumped to his feet feeling his body tense almost painfully. His eyes were all over the place looking for the source of the noise. A few people also woke up but it was Libby who first fought the drowsiness and recognised the voice.

"Oh for duck's sake, Donald! It's the middle of the night," yelled Libby as she made her way towards the lying man. He tried to move away from her but she was faster and snatched the love doll from his hands.

"It's mine! I'll probably be dead in a couple of days. I need some entertainment!" he whined but Libby was unmoved as she started to drain the air from the doll.

"Farewell, Amanda," he sobbed.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I'm so sorry for taking so long to post this chapter. I do have my excuses but won't bother you with them. I'll just say that I will try to make shorter breaks between chapters. Pinky promise? :D Again thank you my readers and my reviewers. You make me work worth it. As usual feedback appreciated.**

**WARNING**

**This chapter hasn't been beta-read. If you find any glaring mistakes, please let me know =='. I'm not a native speaker, you know :)**

* * *

CHAPTER 6

_The large room illuminated only by a weak light diffused by a lampshade hasn't been used in years but this was a special occasion; a ball, and the dress code was extremely rigid. Samantha sat on a music stool and fumbled with the endless ribbons attached to her dress. Long strands of blond hair had got in her eyes but she didn't move a muscle allowing her mother to meticulously spin hundreds of locks on her head. It's been the fourth hour and the small girl didn't utter a single word of protest. Pretty tall for her age, she was the perfect target of ridicule at school. With years to come most boys would leave the insulting to the girls and focus on courting her, but for the time her height was only a plus when her mum could do her hair without bending down. More precisely that was a good thing only for her mum. _

"_Mum?" _

"_Yes, honey?" _

"_Why are you curling my hair?"_

_She prayed that this time she'd be granted a truthful answer. She still had homework to do, dishes to wash and a stomach to feed._

_The woman's lips curved in a smile. "I told you already, sweetheart. You're going to a ball."_

_Another perfect golden lock bounced off the curler and landed on the girl's back._

"_Mum?" Samantha tried again._

"_Yes, pumpkin?"_

"_It's almost 3 a.m. I think it's too late for a ball."_

_Samantha's mother gathered another layer of Sam's hair and started to brush it slowly, careful not to cause her daughter any pain. Pain wasn't good. Not the physical one. This kind of pain was bearable. But the void of pain that starts as a dull ache in your heart and than engulfs your whole chest was far from bearable. She promised herself that she would sacrifice anything to spare her little girl this suffering._

"_I love you, sweetie." _

_Samantha bit her lip. "I love you too, mum."_

Someone's arms circled her from behind and she stiffened involuntarily. Private space was something Ana-Lucia Cortez could break a couple of jaws for. In fact, she did break a couple of jaws to teach some people the value of private space. Fortunately for the owner of the arms, Ana was in no mood to fight as she crouched next to her make-shift bed thinking about Donald's funeral.

"Don't you have anything to do, Sam?" she felt the girl's smile against her slouched back.

"Other than hugging you? Nope," came a cheery answer.

Ana untangled herself from the embrace smirking under her nose at Samantha's antics.

"You're the most huggable person I ever met. How many have you attacked already?"

Sam frowned deep in thought. "Let me think. I still have a couple of people who escaped my cuddling. Taylor is a bit troublesome"

"A bit? I never thought the guy can ran this fast!"Ana couldn't help the chuckle escape her lips as she remembered the scene.

"Me neither. He's one tough challenge." Sam's voice was serious and Ana eyed her with open amusement.

"Oh, never mind. I'll get him soon enough. Could you go with me to the jungle? I really need to pee," she continued and shuffled her legs meaningly.

"What about Libby? Usually, she's the one to assist you."

"I don't want to bother her right now," Sam explained and Ana had no more strength to argue. After all it was her who invented the never-go-to-the-jungle-alone rule in the first place. They started to stroll leisurely towards the thick trees. On first glance, the weather seemed ideal for a walk. Sun poured down the sky uninterrupted by even the smallest clouds. The humidity, however, especially when combined with a swarm of tropical bugs, turned the place from an ideal tourist resort into a sauna straight from Hell.

"Ana?"

Something in Samantha's voice made the policewoman anxious.

"Yeah?" she said still walking.

The girl bit on her bottom lip nervously and continued in slightly smaller voice than before.

"Do you think that Donald, or Irma, or any of those other people who died from injuries, would have survived if…you know…we weren't on the Island?"

"You mean, if we hadn't crashed?"

"No. I mean, if we somehow had access to better medical supplies or something…" Sam rushed to explain but seemed at a loss of words.

"Well, given that miraculously we found a hospital in the middle of the jungle, then perhaps yes."

The other girl went silent and Ana stopped her by the shoulder looking her in the eyes.

"Hey, there was nothing we could have done. You and Libby did everything and even more to help them. We can only focus on the living right now."

Samantha avoided Ana's eyes and her lips trembled dangerously. _Oh, no you won't,_ thought Ana and spun the girl around making her face the nearby bushes.

"It looks like a nice spot. Don't take too long," she instructed the younger girl and pushed her forwards.

Samantha swallowed the gulp that formed in her throat and headed for the bushes without looking back. When she came back stomping through thick bushes, she looked less agitated and the walk back to the beach was filled with lighter subjects. At least, up to a point. Somewhere halfway to the beach Ana stood dead in her tracks. Samantha stumbled on her a bit but regained her balance. She opened her mouth to ask the obvious question but shut it immediately when she noticed the rigidness of Ana's body. She looked ready to pounce any second. Her body was facing slightly one side and Sam dared a look this way. Just then a rustle of leaves revealed a new presence coming from the direction.

"Nice weather for a walk, isn't it girls?"

Ana recognised Eli's voice as and relaxed her stance. A few more seconds and she would have him tackled to a ground. The boy stepped through the bushes with Goodwin behind him.

"Need some bodyguards to back you up?" joked Goodwin and edged towards Ana who immediately relaxed completely. This Peace Corps guy held the aura of confidence that made him trust worthy.

"We're completely fine. But thanks for the offer" she answered and four of them started heading back to the camp.

"You'll be even better if you know what we heard in the jungle mere minutes ago" Eli said smugly.

Nothing that provided sounds and was from this Goddamn jungle could be good as far as Ana could tell. "What exactly did you hear?"

Eli smiled crookedly. "A chicken." He announced and waited for the applause.

_This is something new_ Ana thought. "Are you sure it wasn't some other gull?"

"I beg your pardon? I can tell a difference between a chicken and a gull. My grandma lives on a farm. I used to visit her when I was a kid," he boasted " I'm the closest to a chicken expert you can get on this Island, m'am"

Gleeful laughter filled the jungle at Eli's comment. The boy feigned offence but soon enough joined the amusement. He stepped a bit back from the group to glance at Sam and was shocked to find that she wasn't even smiling her usual smile. Instead, she was shuffling a bit behind them with her eyes glued firmly to her feet so he couldn't make out her humour. Not being very keen on Sam's mood swings, he shrugged it off and returned to walking by Goodwin's side. They just made it back to the camp and before Eli could do anything Sam was already gone walking the opposite direction.

The following two days he could hardly spot her sitting with Mr Eko, who still didn't utter a single word since the night they were attacked, or vanishing somewhere else. To give himself some credit for not approaching her he was kept busy going to a jungle in search of the chicken. Ana and Taylor were sceptical but he managed to convince Goodwin and a couple of other people to come with him. Nathan never followed them on their errands. Truth be told, that guy never seemed to be around the camp. He even refused to follow Ana's rule about going to a jungle with somebody to assist. He seemed to enjoy playing on her nerves. _Not very wise if anybody asked me. I bet that woman knows judo or some other kung-fu tricks_ thought Eli while leading another Find the Chicken party.

He got distracted for a second and missed the unmistakable cackle of chickens. Luckily enough, Goodwin and the rest ran in the direction of the animal's cries. Eli followed closely behind them happy that they found more than one chicken.

"Go ahead of them! Form a circle!" he shouted instructions. Goodwin was the first to spot the birds and managed to herd them towards a small clearing. When all men reached the same place they started to form a living pen. The chickens moved very fast and two of them managed to get pass the human barrier and back to the jungle. Just one was left and Eli licked his lips in anticipation. _Our last hope_ he thought and lunged forward. He missed the target by inches and found himself face flat on the ground. Bells rung in his ears and he could taste dirt in his mouth. He lifted his head from the ground just in time to see Goodwin twist the chicken's neck with a sick crack. He cringed at the thought of switching places with the bird. Goodwin definitely looked strong enough to snap his neck like a twig.

"You okay, kid?" asked Brandon, the Mike Jordan wannabe, and helped Eli to his feet.

"With the view of a bucket of chicken wings as dinner? Never been better."

Bandon laughed at that and the both went with Goodwin back to the camp. Although, Eli wasn't the one catching the bird, his strut implied otherwise. Goodwin moved to gutter the animal while Eli caught up with Libby who was observing their comeback from the hunt.

"Isn't it the most beautiful chicken in the world?" he grinned.

"And a feisty one" Libby retorted and lightly touched Eli's forehead making him hiss in sudden pain. There was no blood, just redness mixed with dirt. Some skin had been scratched off but overall it didn't look life threatening in the least.

"It's just a bump" she continued with her doctor voice "Clean it with water and you should be fine. But if you feel dizzy, nauseous or experience vision problems, immediately come to me."

"Sir, yes sir" he answered bitterly and while still massaging the sore place he left.

He regained good humour when later that evening he inhaled the mouth watering smell of a roasted chicken. Every taste bud in his tongue stood on tiptoes in anticipation of the feast to come. This could have been the most sinewy, stinky, old piece of meat in the world, but still it would have tasted like heaven compared to a forced diet of bananas and mangoes. He planned to cherish every second of devouring his piece of chicken but after almost drooling over the first bite he gnawed at the rest at the speed of light. He even sucked on the bone marrow and licked the little bones shiny clean. It only whetted his appetite but for the time being it would have to work. He looked around and noted that he seemed to be the only one who finished eating so quickly. Samantha hadn't even started eating her share of the meat.

Eli settled next to her. "You better go get the meat before they'll eat your share. I almost suffered a heavy brain trauma hunting this little bastard. It's a precious bird, you know"

The small smile on her face lifted his spirits. "Goodwin got me a plate, see?" she said presenting him with the plate that had been lying next to her bag.

"So why aren't you eating it? You're not a vegan, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously. Vegetarianism was one of those things he just couldn't quite understand.

"No. Well…"she sighed"I guess I need some proteins after all"

Eli watched her eat the chicken and it felt strangely intimate. It felt as if he was nourishing her, taking care of her health. With any other girl, he would know what to do, what to say to keep the things on the right track. "Samantha" and "any other girl" just didn't sit right. She was infuriatingly weird but at the same time natural. It felt nice just sitting next to her. He risked a glance at her but long strands of blond covered her face as she was slightly bent over her plate. Silence seemed the most appropriate option for the time. But it was the comfortable type.

~oo0oo~

"Ana! Wait!" At the sound of urgency in Libby's voice, Ana stopped and looked back.

"Something's wrong?" she asked. Libby caught up with her trying to catch her breath from the run.

"Have you seen Sam?" she finally managed to ask. Ana searched her mind for the last time she saw Samantha. Apart from the trip to the bathroom, she didn't pay too much attention to the girl's whereabouts. She had the nasty habit of popping out of nowhere.

"Not really. Isn't she with Mr. Eko?" Ana took a guess.

"That's what got me alarmed. When I asked him about her, he immediately darted for the jungle. He's worried and to be honest so am I. It's not a safe place. I asked in the camp and nobody saw her since yesterday. What if she was kidnapped?"

Ana jumped into more calculated tone sensing the panic in the other woman. "Calm down, Libby. You know how she can be so clueless. Remember the time she went playing with the kids just out of the blue?"

"But we all saw them going. It's not like she sneaked out. Our camp isn't big so how it was possible for her to just vanish into thin air?" Libby reasoned.

She got a point and Ana knew it. The sun was almost setting and darkness wasn't the best company for a search party. Especially on a mysterious land full of hostile inhabitants. She still hoped that Sam was just irresponsible enough to wander alone further down the beach rather than into the jungle. _She's gonna be in a whole new world of trouble if that's the case_ Ana thought angrily. She dropped the wood she was carrying and started walking towards Goodwin who cared for the fire.

"Are everybody else in the camp?" she directed the question at Libby, who paced beside her. Both women knew that Ana meant Nathan.

"Beside Mr. Eko who went on his own to look for Sam. But I wouldn't worry for him."

When they reached Goodwin, he looked up at them sensing that something bad must have happened. He forced his face into neutral expression although inside he was scared that his cover had been blown. Immediately, he calculated the route of escape. First a blow to Ana's stomach with a shove of a shoulder that would make her double over and bump into Libby. Just enough time to reach the trees and his hiding place for the gun.

"What's up?" he asked casually keeping panic from his voice.

"Samantha seems to be missing. I'll take Taylor and Brandon to look for her. I want you to stay here with Libby and watch out for anything suspicious. We'll come back before nightfall."

Goodwin nodded and had no chance to say anything more as Ana grabbed Taylor and Brandon and explained to them the plan. Taylor wasn't too sharp but he obeyed her without questions and Brandon was the obvious physical asset she needed. They took make-shift tools for boar hunting she planned for the next day and took off. Ana replayed the plan in her mind again and finally decided that she preferred to have Nathan by her side just in case. He was standing by the trees so she changed the original route to pass him by. Before she reached him a cry from the camp stopped her in her tracks.

"Ana!" someone screamed and she quickly spun around expecting the worst case scenario. She saw Libby running for her dear life in the direction of the jungle. Ana looked there and saw Mr. Eko carrying in his arms something covered in a blanket.

"God, don't do this to me" she whispered to no one in particular and sprinted back to the camp. Mr Eko laid the bundle near the fire. Libby was already uncovering the blanket when Ana reached her. From over the doctor's shoulder she saw Samantha's unnaturally pale face. She looked even skinnier than usual and seemed to have a fever. At least she was alive.

"What happened? What's wrong with her?" she snapped at Mr. Eko. The man lifted his gaze from to girl to Ana and the policewoman shut up at the hard look in his eyes.

"Move away people! She needs space to breathe!" Libby screamed at the small crowd that circled around the fire.

"You heard the doctor!" Ana barked and finally the crowd moved away still glancing back and whispering. Goodwin held Eli's wrist because the boy tried to sit next to Sam.

"She's in good hands. Let her rest." he urged the younger boy and they both went for more wood.

Meanwhile, Libby checked Sam's vitals.

"I need a clean piece of cloth, a bowl of water and my medical kit" she instructed in rushed voice.

"I'm on it" said Ana and set off to bring the supplies.

"Stay with me, Samantha. It's gonna be fine" Libby whispered to the feverish girl. At this moment the girl started to wriggle. The sudden pain convulsed her face and Libby heard her moan. She was clutching her stomach and mumbling incomprehensibly. _Food poisoning? We had the chicken for yesterday's dinner but.._ Libby thought and looked at Mr. Eko. Their eyes met and wordlessly they got to the same conclusion. At this time Ana returned and Libby got herself busy caring for the girl. At the back of her head a nagging thought stayed : _Why she's the only one sick if we all ate the same thing?_

_

* * *

_

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Libby gets scared

Meanwhile, Libby checked Sam's vitals.

"I need a clean piece of cloth, a bowl of water and my medical kit" she instructed in rushed voice.

"I'm on it" said Ana and set off to bring the supplies.

"Stay with me, Samantha. It's gonna be fine" Libby whispered to the feverish girl. At this moment the girl started to wriggle. The sudden pain convulsed her face and Libby heard her moan. She was clutching her stomach and mumbling incomprehensibly. She was clearly trying to say something.

"It.. it hurts..."she managed to sputter.

"I know, hun. Hold on."

"I...I.." Sam stuttered.

"What is it? What you want to say?"

The girl coughed hard until she was red on her face but eventually managed to whisper with difficulty. "I see dead people"

Libby felt the chills on her arms. She was not a person to believe in supernatural but Samantha's voice was serious.

"I...I..." Sam stuttered again, straining to say something more. Libby wasn't sure she wanted to hear it.

"I...I.."continued the girl."I...I think I need to lay off the booze," she said and burped loudly.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Thank you LostInLost18,** **GwenCooper92, Halkyone and MonsterXChild for your support. Also thank you all for still reading the story. I haven't forgotten about this story. My inspiration is back! Hope it stays for some time :)**

**This story hasn't been beta-read. If you're interested in being my beta-reader I'd be more than thrilled :)  
**

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CHAPTER 7

There was nothing more than blackness. Everlasting and opaque with her in the middle, twisting and turning like a maggot. Colourful strings, usually scattered and elusive, now turned into barbed wires all firmly attached to her stomach forming together a new centre of her world - PAIN. She was fixed to it. Pierced with it. No sound could go beyond it. Even so, some part of her could decipher a constant noise produced somewhere around her. This noise was mute but vibrating inside of her.

PAIN appeared in waves. Like the stormy ocean. In those rare moments of silence before another wave hit her hard, she recognised pieces of stained glass that once, before PAIN ate her alive, was her memory.

~oo0oo~

"Mom?"

The image was blurry. With some weird TV noise all over it. A tall blonde woman in her thirties wearing a V cut floral dress and a kitchen apron was smiling at her from a TV set. She looked somewhat like Julia Child from the video, but younger, standing in her kitchen. And the image was just as blurry and distorted a little in a funny way as Julia's video mom played in her kitchen TV. Like the mirrors in the circus and the scary clowns that make you smile even though you don't want to.

Someone should ask daddy to fix the aerial.

_It's the Goddamn aerial again, isn't it ? How many times will I have to tell Martin to fix it for fuck's sake. A fucking excuse of a husband... _

The angry rambling scaring her.

"Mom?" Her face a little bit less foggy. "Yes, my chocolate cupcake with sprinkles all over her?"

She started to tickle her daughter playfully until the girl backed against the wall trying to wriggle herself out of her mother's grasp. She loved those playful moments. Martin out of her mind again. Just her and her sweet girl that made her proud. One would love to keep a moment like that in a box and revisit it again and again. Life's simple when you're a kid. You don't pay taxes, don't think about the bills and you're not scared of 'what ifs'. What if he loses the job? What if the bank won't give us the loan? What if?

Mom's skin was warm, still warm from the sun. And she smelled like vanilla.

"You wanted to ask me something, apple pie?" mom chirped finally stopping the sweet tickling torture. The girl laughed some more and strained to catch a breath. She needed some time to remember her question. Oh, yeah. Aerial. Amusement evaporated at instant.

"Mom, are you angry?" she inquired.

"What a strange idea, pumpkin. Look at your mom now and tell me if you see any traces of anger" the older women posed a smile straight from a magazine that made her daughter giggle.

"Mom, you're funny"

"Now, Samantha Evelyn Gilman, I swear I will tickle those silly ideas out of you!" she mock scolded her and started to tickle the girl much to her amusement.

The sound of her laughter rung in her own ears but seemed to be distanced. It was like somebody else was laughing. Somebody standing next to her. She focused on the source of the laugh but couldn't pin it to a place now. It grew even more distant. And eventually she couldn't hear it any more. But the vibrations remained. Hidden in her belly. Coming from within. She looked at her mother not able to stop her soundless laughing fit. Everything seemed to slow down. _Mom? There's wrong with your face. _Slightly foggy on the edges. Slightly askew.

The vibrations grew stronger and started to divert her attention from her mother's disfigured features.

_It's the Goddamn aerial again, isn't it ? How many times for FUCK'S sake ..._

A tugging appeared at the bottom of her belly along the vibrations. It started to spread towards her chest. No, not spread. Snake. Like a serpent snaking its way towards her mouth.

Suddenly she realised that her mouth was dry.

_Probably, because it's open while I'm laughing_, she thought.

The tugging increased. It was no longer a tugging. More like an itch. The kind that hurts. The kind you want to scratch until you see blood and then some more. Almost there. Nearing the back of her throat now. Sending vibrations to her strained cheeks. Almost there. And then the wave came back. When vibrations hit her tongue they erupted like fireworks into a sound.

~oo0oo~

The piercing scream chilled Ana's blood. It was almost unbearable to observe so much anguish, so much suffering.

"Hold on, girl. Just hold on for some more," she mumbled more to herself then to the girl sprawled in her lap and clutching her stomach.

"I know it hurts. But you gotta be brave, okay? You're gonna fight it. You listening? Fight it off."

She ignored the girl's efforts to roll off her lap and cradled Sam's torso tight against her chest trying to calm her down with pointless babble. Sam was groaning now. Gathering strength before pain kicked in again. Her heavy breaths against Ana's shoulder. It was near dawn, but Ana was sure that nobody in the camp got any sleep. Not with the screams echoing every couple of minutes. _God, if you're seeing this I hope you're having good time because I sure like Hell do not, _she thought bitterly and started to rock softly humming some non-existent tune.

_Guys should see me know. Ana Lucia Cortez, the bad-mouthed bitch with an attitude, acting as a nurse. Splendid. How did you got yourself into this? _

As on cue, Libby stirred nearby and without even opening her eyes, asked:

"I'll change you, Ana. I got some sleep"

"You got to be kidding me, Libby" the ex-police officer snorted. "Just lie down. I'll be fine."

"You don't have to do it..."

"Don't. Or I'll change my mind", she smirked over Sam's shoulder attempting at some humour. Libby let exhaustion take over her again. She did everything she could for Samantha. The food poisoning was stronger than she had thought possible. The girl's organism had to fight it on its own. There's no other way. No pills to help her.

"Remember about..." she whispered hoarsely already drifting off.

"Yeah, yeah. I know", Ana interrupted "Hydrating."

She reached with her right hand and groped for the bottle of water lying nearby. Grasping it, she changed hands with Samantha still wriggling in her arms, and screwed the bottle off.

"Samantha? You have to drink. "

The girl moaned and mumbled something incoherent without opening her eyes probably having a nightmare. Ana, sighed and nestled Samantha's head against the crook of her arm like a baby and moved the opened bottle close to the girl's lips. The first droplets of cold liquid run down Sam's chin and the girl seemed to recognise the feeling as she moved her face closer to the source of water. She drank it hurriedly, swallowing large mouthfuls and almost choking on them.

"Slow down, cariño" she said, surprising herself with the Spanish expression she used to hear from her mother.

After Sam finished drinking, a shadow of relief spread over her features. The pain in her stomach subsided along with the darkness and images of her mother. She opened her eyes and Ana saw some traces of rationality in them.

"Look who's here. Well, hello there," she said, somehow anticipating Samantha's trademark smile to appear. Willing it to appear.

"Hi" the girl voiced hoarsely and immediately coughed.

"Stop talking. Believe me, I got enough of any noises coming from your mouth," she said "You should try some sleep."

Samantha closed her eyes obediently and let Ana move her body to a more comfortable position on the blankets. Ana's arms felt numb but she didn't quiver while laying the sick girl carefully next to Libby.

Another wave of pain exploded in Sam's stomach and the girl bit hard on her lip to prevent the screams. She felt a bit stronger after regaining consciousness and not vomiting the water she was given. Ana was immediately by her side.

"It's alright. Do you want more water? Wait a sec I'll fetch another bottle."

"No" Sam stuttered with difficulty. "I..I'll be fine."

"Shh... It's okay. It's been a long night kid. You're gonna make it" she cooed and watched Sam relax. _A long, long night indeed_, Ana thought and lied next to Sam finally allowing herself a well-deserved rest.

~oo0oo~

_morning, the day before…_

_His staff was beginning to look the way he intended. His fingers gripped the small piece of metal as he carved another verse from the Bible. He used to carve wooden figures when he was a kid so the work was fairly easy. It wasn't supposed to be fun but he couldn't help it. He enjoyed every second, cherished every letter and every number. _

_He felt rather than saw somebody approaching him. She guessed a woman as most men went to hunt some chickens for dinner. And he was right._

_"Hi", Sam chirped standing next to Mr. Eko "It looks amazing. You're very talented" she said without expecting an answer and simply sat opposite to him._

_He acknowledged her with a glance and returned to his handy work. He was aware of the fact that with Samantha silence didn't last long but he didn't mind the extra noise as long as nobody tried to force him into talking._

_"Is it a walking staff? It definitely looks like a walking staff," she pondered and then giggled._

_"You'll look like Gandalf the Grey"_

_Mr. Eko looked at her with his bushy eyebrows slightly furrowed at the comment. He had no idea what she was talking about or what was the source of her amusement. _

_"It's a compliment! He's a very powerful wizard," his frown only deepened so she added "I mean wiseman! A very powerful one indeed. He's a fictional character, you know"_

_He lost interest and returned to his work once again. Surprisingly enough, the girl was silent for a longer moment and he looked up again wondering if he had offended her. She didn't seem offended but sad as she watched the waves. _

_He let go of his staff and lightly touched her shoulder gaining her attention again. The question in his steady gaze was obvious._

_"I'm fine," she said turning slightly his way but his gaze didn't waver. _

_"Perhaps, not so fine," she sighed and again fixing her stare on the never ending azure before her. _

_"It's just there are some things I regret. Decisions I made. I'm not sure what to do any more" loose strands from her ponytail got in her eyes and she put them in place. Wind was warm that day._

_"And when I think about the people who have died or were killed," she gulped nervously and glanced at Mr. Eko but his eyes reassured her that she could continue even though her words caused his throat to tighten._

_"And when I think about them, I can't stop those thoughts that maybe…you know, just maybe, I should be in their place," Mr. Eko's sharp intake of air made her snap her eyes back to him scared to find him angry with her. But there was a different emotion on his face. Fear. Fear and determination. He gripped her shoulder somewhat too strongly locking her eyes with his brown orbs. She understood immediately. Those eyes communicated everything. She felt her eyes water and nodded. The pressure on her shoulder disappeared and he looked at her meaningfully one more time before going back to the carving. He never would have guessed that the next day he would find her convulsing in the middle of some meadow fairly away from the camp, that he would be forced to listen to her screams not able to help and thinking that maybe, just maybe, there was something he could have done to prevent them._

_

* * *

_

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

_"It's just there are some things I regret. Decisions I made. I'm not sure what to do any more" loose strands from her ponytail got in her eyes and she put them in place. Wind was warm that day._

_"And when I think about the people who have died or were killed," she gulped nervously and glanced at Mr. Eko but his eyes reassured her that she could continue even though her words caused his throat to tighten._

_"I mean the people who have died by violence," she tried and he closed her eyes but nodded for her to carry on. _

_"Those that you slaughtered," his chest seemed to be pierced with a sudden pang of remorse._

_"You know, by smashing their heads," he snapped his eyes open almost exclaiming: Could you please stop? "Probably turning their brains into a gooey mess. The intracranial pressure making their ears bleed. Their faces twisted in agony as their begged for you to stop. I bet they had kids. A little girl named Mary Ann used to sit on one of those laps now stained with blood..."_

_"I GET IT! I FUCKING GET IT!", he screamed right in her face. _

_"Gotcha" she said unfazed and grinned maniacally. _

_It took one hour, six people and a dislocated shoulder to tackle him as he chased her through the beach with his staff held high above his head. _


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N ****Surprise, surprise. You haven't seen that coming, eh? I wanted to repent for the delayed update so I decided to give you two chapters one after another. Things are getting heated. Hope you like it. **

* * *

CHAPTER 7

Her eyelids seem to weigh tons and if not for the growing thirst she would have decided to leave them closed. She tried to fight the drowsiness and willed her eyes to open.

"Morning, sunshine," she heard a voice next to her but was too tired to look that way.

"Libby! She's awake!" the voice increased in volume and she moaned wincing at the sound.

"Ops. Sorry," this time a theatrical whisper and she welcomed the change with a relief.

Blinking a couple of times she moved her head to the left just in time to see Eli peering at her intensely.

"If you feel like tossing your cookies, let me know. It's my favourite shirt. Mostly because, it's the only one I got."

For a second she doubted her own sanity. Everything seemed to be fine with his face but still nothing could be said for sure.

"Cookies?" her own rasp voice reminded her of the growing thirst.

"Drink it. We must keep you hydrated," with this Libby brought Samantha's head a bit higher and held a bottle of water to her lips.

"You gave us one hell of a scare. Ana was livid. She went all FBI on us," Eli babbled.

He fixed his face into an angry frown and tried to imitate Ana's barking speech.

"Where was the last time you've seen her? Have you seen her eating anything strange?"

He was too far into his own joke to notice Ana now standing behind his back with folded arms.

"That must have been the worst impersonation I've seen."

He jumped and immediately turned crimson. He tried to stammer a semi-apology but Ana ignored him completely and sat next to Samantha, who was still drinking her water.

"How is she?" she turned to Libby.

The other woman let Sam finish the bottle and laid her head back on the blanket.

"The fever is over and that's good news. How's your stomach, Sam?" she asked the girl.

Samantha reluctantly searched her body for any signs of pain but found none.

"It's fine, I guess. I'm just dizzy."

"I bet you are, sleeping beauty. You've slept for nearly two days," Libby smiled "Here's what we gonna do. I'll fetch you some biscuits. And maybe even some hot mint tea. What do you think?"

Samantha's stomach grumbled. "I take it as yes," Libby stated and left the girl with Ana and Eli. The ex-policewoman shot a meaningful glance at Eli.

"Khem. I'll go too. Catch a fish or something. Make myself useful and stuff," he laughed nervously and edged away.

When Eli was gone, Sam with Ana's help propped herself on elbows and gave herself some moments to stop the world from turning so violently. After taking some calming breaths, she managed to sit. The sun was high but she found the shadow of the jungle comforting. Everything seemed to be back on its original track. The sand was still burning hot and ever present. The sound of the ocean soothing during the day and menacing during the night. The vastness of two hues of blue meeting together in a blurry line of the horizon. Home sweet home.

But something changed and she knew it. Fear, once sitting in the corner of her mind waiting for her weaker moments, was now ubiquitous. A well-fed monster from the closet was now sitting on her bed sheets with a smile worth the Cheshire Cat.

Ana sighed deeply diverting Sam's attention from her own musings. "You think you could answer a couple of questions?"

Sam just nodded her head so Ana continued. "To be honest I'm torn between yelling at you for leaving the camp and asking calmly about the circumstances"

Sam winced but said nothing avoiding Ana's gaze which only frustrated her further.

"What happened?" she asked point-blankly not even trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone.

"I felt nauseous and went to the bathroom. I guess, I wandered off too far and was simply too weak to come back," Samantha started explaining. Ana didn't need to use her LAPD instincts to figure out that something was missing in Sam's story. "And then everything went black and I woke up on the beach." the girl finished still looking anywhere than at Ana.

_Please, just drop it. Please, I don't know what to say to make you drop it_, Samantha thought. Fortunately, just as Ana opened her mouth to ask another question Libby showed up with a cracked mug and a pack of Anzac biscuits.

"It's the best I could do. Bland food would be perfect and those biscuits surely are full of sugar. Still, you need to eat something," said Libby apologetically and started to feed the girl with small bites of biscuits soaked in warm tea. Samantha's stomach appreciated the warmth despite the overall hotness of the day. Ana finally decided to let the girl get some rest. _But it's not the end._ _This girl is scared of something and I will find out why, _Ana promised herself and left Sam in peace.

~oo0oo~

"We have a system for that. We go in pairs," Ana spat at Nathan who burst from the jungle like everything was okay.

"Yeah, sorry," he answered not even trying to look apologetic._ Ever since the weird girl got sick she acts like a lunatic. Even worse lunatic than before,_ he thought angrily. _It's been almost two weeks since the crash, chill out._

"Relax, Ana. Channel your energy towards that wooden weapon. Bacon sounds delicious," said Goodwin after Nathan disappeared from sight. She just looked at him fleetly and returned to sharpening the piece of metal attached to a club in silence and let her thoughts wander. _I should keep an eye on Nathan. He seemed honest enough about Sam's disease. Besides, Jim backed up his story. I don't trust him and my guts are usually right. Fuck. The pieces of puzzle are right there, Cortez. Right. Fucking. There, _she thought punctuating last words with sharp movements of her hand. Goodwin observed Ana out of the corner of his eye. She was growing restless and it was the perfect moment. After the whole incident with Samantha, Ana needed somebody to blame. With the plans he had in mind, Nathan was a perfect distraction.

He stayed with Ana for the remaining part of the day, silently observing the camp spreading before him. It was vital for her to see him near her so she wouldn't link anything to him. Orders were given the day before and he left the signal in his hiding place.

The night approached and after a dinner made of mangoes and some fish Eli finally managed to catch, probably by accident, one by one they lied down to rest. After waiting a couple of hours for good measure, they attacked.

~oo0oo~

Someone was screaming and Ana experienced a feeling of déjà vu, the memories of the fateful night with Sam on her lap still fresh in her mind. Someone run near her head and screaming increased in volume. She shot up registering the commotion in the camp. People were running, bumping against each other.

"The kids! They took the kids!" she heard Libby and her heart skipped a beat only to jump into full race mere seconds later. She saw one of the kids being dragged into the jungle and leapt.

"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs but almost immediately got tackled to the ground by the enemy. Her brain registered a foreign face as she fought against the figure. No time to act rational. She grabbed a stone, smashed it on her opponent's head with all the hatred and anger she could master. This one blow was enough to earn her the upper hand. Looking up, she tried her best to take in the situation but it was hard to distinguish survivors from the enemies. She looked to her far left and felt her stomach turn into a piece of ice. With a roar she sprinted towards a man dragging Samantha by a rope tied to her neck.

"Let her go, mother fucker!" she threw herself at him. She knew she had no chance on her own as she saw the size of her opponent but at that moment she couldn't have cared less. Redness overtook her vision as she punched the guy right in the face and making him let go of the rope. For a split of second she saw blood on his face but then he elbowed her right in the ribs making her double over and trip over Samantha.

"Ana!" the girl wheezed frantically despite the flaring pain in her throat. She reached for the policewoman but Ana was already on her feet looking around in search of the enemy but there was none to be seen.

"Which way did they go? Which way did they go?" Ana yelled first at Samantha and then at Libby who was running through the camp not really knowing what to do.

"They took Jim! and Eli! They're gone!" Libby cried and somebody added that Nancy was missing as well .

They couldn't be far away. There must be a way to bring them back. Ana returned to the figure she hit with the stone.

She needed some answers. No matter what.

"Wake up! Wake up! Who are you? Talk to me. Wake up!"

"She's dead. She's dead," Goodwin tried to get Ana off the dead body. Ana Lucia Cortez going berserk was not part of the plan. _Oh my God, Nellie. You're sacrifice won't be futile_, he thought while holding the body of his colleague. This moment of distraction cost him dearly as Ana searched the woman's pocket and found the list.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath but thankfully nobody noticed.

"What are you doing? What is that?" he asked praying to all gods that the panic in his voice was not misunderstood.

Ana froze while skimming through the letters. The pattern was familiar. The names were familiar. but for a split of second she couldn't comprehend it. But then it hit her hard. _How fucking convenient. You should have seen it coming_, she thought.

"It's a list" she said evenly although inside she was already boiling.

"A list of what?" Libby shrieked, panic running through her veins. The whole camp was gathered around Ana and the dead body.

"9—of us" said Ana and looked at Libby. Adrenaline gone, now replaced with coldness. If looks could kill, the whole camp would have turned into ash that very moment.

"What do you mean?" started Bernard blinking in surprise but Ana ignored him completely and barked orders again.

"Everybody stay here! Goodwin, take Mr. Eko and look for any traces this way," she waved her hands to her left "Libby, see if anybody beside Sam got injured."

"Sam?" said Libby and went to search the girl while Ana set off in the opposite direction to Goodwin.

"Sam! Oh my God…" she knelt next to the girl noting the bright red pattern on her neck.

Samantha was huddled against the tree muttering something to herself with her doe eyes immediately large in the light of the roaring fire.

"Eli..," she wheezed meekly. "Eli, I'm so sorry."

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**A/N I'm sorry that this one is short. I wanted to give it to you as soon as possible. Besides, this sounded like a perfect place to finish before the following events :D **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Hello everyone! You're so awesome for being here. And the reviews keep me so happy! **

**Yes, honey, everything is going to be explained I pinky promise :D I'm glad you like it so far. Thank you all: Temerice, GwenCooper92, Olimpia, LostInLost18 for leaving amazing reviews for the previous chapters. You're truly amazing and make it worth for me. ****Special thanks to Olimpia who doesn't have an account but left a very long and nice review and for Temerice as this was my first feedback from her :D You rock.**

**Oh and btw, you shouldn't worry too much about Eli :) Just a hint :D  
**

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CHAPTER 9

_'Back off!' the policewoman elbowed her way through the crowd none too gently. The wail of upcoming sirens kept drilling into her skull amplifying the migraine that could only be cured with a bottle of Jack Daniels. She shivered with disgust at the feel of moist bodies against the bare skin on her forearms. The ruthless crowd of vultures, starving for cheap sensation, reluctantly yielded to the policewoman's command and let her pass._

_'Those officials are so rude,' someone muttered reproachfully and she saw red regretting instantly that punching citizens was not a standard procedure at crime scene. Oh, I would show them rude, she thought gritting her teeth. Shoving the last person that obstructed her view, she stepped into the middle of the crowd. Her partner, Mike Walton, followed her shortly but she left him no time to notice her reaction to the scene before her. Nobody was to see her weak. And she definitely felt weak after seeing the twisted body of a man in his late forties lying in a large pool of his own blood. She tried to convince herself that one day she'd get used to seeing dead bodies but after some time she recognized it as wishful thinking. The jump her stomach did was unmistakable._

_'I'll look around,' she informed her partner and turned letting paramedics do their job in peace. She doubted there was anything to be done. The guy must have been dead long before they arrived. His death was swift but most probably painful. The head injury left no room for other options. She glimpsed a motion in the direction of the nearby house and she whipped her head. On the porch with the door still open behind him stood a young boy not older than 7, with huge expressive eyes fixed on her. _

_Blood was seeping through scratches on his chin and knees but he didn't care. He just wanted to take a look and curiosity was stronger than fear. But now this police officer was frowning and he wanted so bad for the wood panels of the porch to split and let him fall beneath. This look was hypnotizing, fearsome. But he hadn't done anything wrong. He had just been riding his bike when the car pulled over and those big jocks thrown the man on the pavement. At first he thought that the man had been sleeping but then he saw blood and fell off his bike. He left the bike behind and ran to his room, crawled under his bed and waited for his heart to stop racing. He just had to look one more time and make sure that it was not a dream. And now this angry policewoman would arrest him._

_'Hey! It's okay. I just want to talk, kiddo,' she hailed at the boy and advanced with the palms of her hands showing him her intentions were peaceful._

_'Everything's gonna be alright. Trust me,' she whispered standing a few steps away from him. _

_But the boy kept quiet. His mouth stayed closed even when the woman before him started asking questions. He was silent even when some other people came and rushed him inside the house and offered some tea. He wouldn't offer a single nod that he would have indicated that he heard any of them. The policewoman was nice. She told him her name and it sounded even nicer to him. Ana, just like his mom. He hoped for the comfort of his mother's embrace but was disappointed. It didn't help. So he kept quiet. He looked again at the nice woman, Ana, and found out that she was the only person that didn't smile. She was sad, as sad as he was. She understood. And that was the only comfort he would get in a long time. His parents never mentioned the happenings of that day. He was left alone with the images of blood spattered on the concrete and the nagging feeling that he knew that man. It occurred to him a week after the whole incident. He knew that sharing this with his parents was out of the question. And finally he had the chance to solve his mystery as he saw the man's face on the local TV. The name under the picture was 'Thomas' but for the little boy this was a name like any other. But the picture itself was far more telling. He recognized those warm brown eyes. They belonged to the man who talked to him in the playground asking some weird questions about his former babysitter. She was a nice girl. He hoped she was okay wherever she was. _

~oo0oo~

She was floating above her physical form like a balloon filled with helium. It was surreal, but frankly speaking, everything in her life seemed surreal. It wouldn't be the first time she questioned the reality around her so it was easier just to accept it. Observing your body from above your own head was not so bad after all. It had its perks. Firstly, she felt no pain and no nausea. Secondly, she didn't have to experience anything. She felt empty and almost at peace. Good enough. It was even a bit silly to see herself from this perspective. Her shoulders seemed even skinner and she wondered how it was possible for her physical body to be moving at all. It looked so fragile, like a pile of cards ready to fall any second.

She was the last person in the procession with Mr Eko walking next to her, keeping her company. He was much taller than her but she could now see the top of his head. His shoulders were so massive in comparison to hers. She would definitely like to be so muscular. Everything would be simple. Libby wouldn't insist on so many stops just because she, Samantha Gilman, was so frail. Ana wouldn't have this cold determination in her eyes that melted into sorrow every time she cast a look her way.

She wanted to hug her so much whenever Ana did it. Tell her that things had to work out eventually. Explain everything and they would both laugh as if it would be a great joke. This heavy burden would disappear and Ana would protect her. And Mr Eko would forgive himself and stop atoning. Peaches and cream with a juicy cherry right at the top, right?

Samantha knew that would never happen. She couldn't bear thinking about the risk. There was no way back. There was no hope left. There were no words to explain. It was so much easier to just let her body walk on its own through the jungle. Ignore the discussions, whispers and arguments between the survivors. Focus on this surreal feeling of numbness.

~oo0oo~

'Not yet,' Ana said before Bernard started to form a request to stop for the night. He blinked but said nothing. You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Ana was the last person among the survivors you would wanna argue with. Especially, not at the moment. Not after what had happened. Instead of voicing his complaint concerning his knee joints and a heart valve, he returned to his normal pace in the middle of the group. Taking a handkerchief from his pocket he brushed streams of sweat off his forehead. _Humidity is going be the death of me. Or those jungle people will get me first, _he thought looking around fearfully.

'Just some more, Bernard. You'll be fine,' he looked to his left to see Libby smiling softly at him. He didn't share her optimism but was happy to find a person ready to hear his grumbles.

'I heard it too many times to count. I may pass out any minute now. Mark my words, Libby. This whole escapade is foolish. Definitely, not a good idea. Reckless. They'll have us exactly when they want us. Walking straight into a trap…'

'Do you have a better idea?' the woman asked in return and he was left speechless opening and closing his mouth like a fish taken from water.

He finally found his voice. 'Of course I have! I daresay every idea is better than falling into a trap! You can't honestly believe that …'

'You had a different opinion when we, and I mean all of us, decided to leave the beach,' she reminded him.

'Yes, of course, but I mean..' he stammered but Libby interrupted him 'I'm sure we'll find a nice place for the rest soon enough.'

Bernard shut his mouth firmly and chose to stay quiet although his anger had already started to simmer. It didn't get a chance to start boiling as Ana announced stop for the night. He managed a couple of steps before sitting with a heavy thud on the ground.

'Finally!' he exclaimed pointedly at Ana who ignored him completely and started gathering the wood for a small fire. Cindy lent her a hand whereas Nathan and Goodwin checked the perimeter.

Meanwhile, Eko looked at the blonde girl next to him. She seemed to be on the verge of passing out but stayed in place looking at her feet with the empty expression on her face. He set his backpack and club down and quickly prepared a blanket for her to sit on. Ever since the events two days ago, she was his silent companion and he vowed to never leave her side again. Extremely gently he took her hand in his distantly noticing how pale was her skins and guided her to the blanket. He could sense the danger lurking ahead and he prayed for more strength for the girl. He wasn't sure whether he would be able to protect her from the dusk. He could only try.

~oo0oo~

_'Mrs. Gilman?'_

_The woman fidgeted with the edge of the tablecloth trying very hard to ignore the man sitting in front of her. Maybe he'd go away on his own? Perhaps, he'd get tired with her behaviour? The badge on his jacket said 'Thomas'. He definitely looked like a Thomas. Plain, easy to miss in the street kind of guy. He probably had brown eyes. Of course, she could only guess. But if his eyes were blue? Thomas with blue eyes? That'd be so strange. She decided to risk a peak to check._

_'I have just a couple of questions Mrs. Gilman' _

_Not good. Not good. Not good. NOT GOOD. What to do? What to say to make him go away?_

_'I promise it won't take long,' the man continued. He glanced at the doctor and two orderlies standing by the door. He knew that he had to choose his words wisely. _

_'We're just worried about your daughter, Mrs. Gilman.' The woman said nothing but he noticed a slight change in her posture. She was fully alert now. That seemed like a step in the good direction and he had to be extremely careful if he didn't want to spoil it._

_'It's very important that you tell me where she is,' he shifted his body slightly closer to her and this time she didn't bolt. _

_'We want to make sure she's safe. I know you want it too. May I call you Charlotte?' he took her silence as permission. 'I'm here because I want to help you and your daughter, Charlotte. You can trust me.' _

_'No,' she startled him. The shrink by the door made a hesitant step forward but Thomas stopped him with a raised hand._

_'What do you mean, Charlotte? You CAN trust me,' he wanted to say something more but then the woman before him fixed him with a look that stopped him in place. Her short blonde hair protruding in every direction framed her once beautiful face. The white hospital gown added to the paleness of her complexion. And her eyes. Those eyes a couple of minutes ago were glazed and absent, now stormy and sharp. Terrifyingly sane. _

_'I don't have a daughter.' _

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Ben and the human resources problem

'You called me, sir?' asked the bulky man and Ben turned around to face him. He put on the most intimidating facial expression he could muster. It was his favourite one and he was proud of it.

'Indeed, Phil. I did. Are out guests safely secured ?'

The bloke looked at him agape and Ben felt his patient façade slipping away slowly.

'Our guests, Phil. I mean the people from the plane that came here this morning.'

He could almost see the cogs finally working in his subordinate's brain.

'Oh, now I know,' he said and giggled like a schoolgirl. 'It was sarcasm, right? Like you say guests but mean prisoners, right? Miss Juliet explained sarcasm to me when I told her I sometimes don't understand your words, sir.'

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself and decided to start again.

'Yes, Phil. I meant the prisoners. Are they already locked up?'

Phil's face turned to stone. 'Yes, sir,' and Ben sighed with relief.

'Of course besides the kids,' Phil continued and Ben felt slightly weak at the knees.

'What do you mean besides the kids?' he asked slowly.

'I gave them milk and cookies and let them play with Alex.'

Ben's stomach sunk as his imagination brought the image of Alex kidnapping the kids and trying to smuggle them back to the plane survivors. He was ready to leap through the door and grab the nearest phone to call the guards but then Phil's sudden guffaw stopped him in his tracks.

'What's so funny?' he asked dumbfounded.

'I did the sarcasm thing,' Phil explained with his face read from laughing. Ben was not impressed. The spine-chilling, heart-stopping, ice-freezing stare he got in exchange killed his light mood at once. The sudden silence that fell in the room felt awkward.

'So…Room 23, eh?' he said but got no answer. Not that he needed it. His fate was sealed and he knew. He turned on his heel and left the still glaring Ben behind.

**A/N Mysteries, mysteries :)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hi guys! It's good to be back :D The following chapter includes a bunch of flashbacks. Sorry, if you get confused == They are chronological if that helps. **

**But it's also a very special chapter. LostInLost18's original character appears in it! Welcome her warmly :D It's stressing me out. I tried my best but I never tried it before so sorry in advance. **

**I know that there are many things that are still left without answers. I left many clues and everything will be clear soon. I promise. Just give me more time to keep you on your toes :D It's what I love in Lost: mysteries, theories and unexpected twists. Never as it seems! LOL**

**As always, please leave a review. Even the shortest of short will make me very happy.

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CHAPTER 10

_Samantha stood in the backyard with the bag that held everything she owned. She experienced a strong feeling of déjà vu looking at the building in front of her. She knew that during the day its creamy walls were warm and inviting. She remembered the secret place under the flowerpot where the key was held. It used to be her second home. A place in which she felt safe and loved. It was probably also the most obvious place to look for her. But it didn't matter anymore. She was just tired. She looked around and found a suitable pebble lying next to her foot. Weighing it in her hand she hoped that her memory was not playing tricks on her. She aimed carefully and the pebble hit the window with a sharp noise. She cringed at the sound and waited in anticipation. After a couple of excruciatingly long minutes a hand opened the window and a whirl of fiery red hair surrounding a pale face appeared in it. A volley of abuse directed at the intruder was already on the redhead's lips but she noticed the blonde girl standing in the backyard. _

_"God.." she whispered to herself and motioned to the girl to move to the front porch. The redhead's father was sleeping on the couch so letting Samantha through the backyard was out of the question. She opened the door to her room and hurried downstairs. The corridor was immersed in darkness but the girl knew every corner of it by heart. Skillfully sidestepping her little brother's toy soldiers and bricks, she turned the key and grabbing Samantha by her arm literally dragged her upstairs. She pushed her into her room and looked around making sure that her dad and brother were still asleep. Asserting that the house was quiet, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her turning the key as she did so. She turned around and found Samantha standing in the middle of the room motionless. What struck her first was her hair. She used to envy Samantha's long blonde strands reaching her lower back but now the girl's hair was merely shoulder-length. But what stayed the same was the girl's smile. Wide as ever. _

_"I missed you, Taylor" Sam said "You have no idea."_

_Her mind screamed for her to be angry. To bombard the girl in front of her with questions. The loudest of them all and the most cliché at the same time would be 'Why haven't you called?'. For all these years she imagined this meeting differently. Most importantly, she imagined herself in it differently. But the present Taylor wasn't angry at all. She just wanted to see that Samantha was safe. _

_"I missed you too, kiddo" she said finally and let the taller girl squeeze the air out of her lungs in a truly bear hug. _

~oo0oo~

Drink the water they give you. Answer questions with 'yes' or 'no'. Go to sleep with others. Get up when you hear others get up. Simply exist. It's another day in the same spot. Did it mean that they formed a new camp? She didn't know but it certainly looked like that. The stream served as a water supply and the hill as a shelter. Seemed like a good choice. She didn't care nonetheless. Libby took a look at the bruise on her neck and said it was healing nicely and that there wouldn't be a scar. She whispered something to Mr. Eko and he nodded his head. It must have been something about food because he increased his attempts at feeding her. She allowed him to do that from time to time but mostly refused. It's hard to eat something when you feel detached from your own body. Tending to physical needs was not on her mind at all. She had to use the bathroom and usually Cindy accompanied her. Luckily, Cindy seemed to share her unwillingness to communicate and stayed silent. Her mind was on the kids and so was Ana's.

Sam looked to her right. Ana returned from the jungle. She should have noticed it earlier. She should have heard it earlier. There was dirt all over Ana's hands. She passed Sam and started washing her hands in the stream. Dirt was deeply borrowed in her fingernails and she needed extra time to get rid of it. Sam watched her too perplexed to notice that the feeling of numbness was slipping away slowly. At first she felt a prickling sensation in her legs. She had been sitting in the exact position for far too long. Then, she felt an irritating itchiness from the small cuts on her neck. But the most important feeling was in her stomach. Like a lump of ice. Later, she regretted not saying anything at that moment. Perhaps a casual 'What are you doing, Ana?' would have changed everything. But she didn't say a word instead averting her gaze once Ana turned around. Blood was pounding in her ears like waves against the shore. But Ana wasn't paying attention to her. She was focused on the task before her. The pit was almost ready.

She needed a day or two. It was already deep enough for someone to stand in it but she didn't need a shelter. She needed a trap. The walls were supposed to be too high for somebody inside to get out on their own. No matter how badly he would want to get out. After her little exchange with Libby she gained new confidence in her actions. Libby was also suspicious about Nathan. She even looked scared but Ana was one hundred percent sure that it was unnecessary. As long Nathan didn't suspect that his cover had been blown, they were safe. She just needed to act swiftly. She tried not to think about things that would have to be done in order to make him talk. If his people were capable of kidnapping innocent kids, she was pretty sure he knew how to endure pain. And she would not have mercy. She would not hold back.

~oo0oo~

_"Morning, Dad," Taylor said enthusiastically. Even to her own ears her voice sounded over the top. But she couldn't help it. It's not everyday that you meet your long lost childhood friend. She just had to conceal it for the time being. _

_"Miss Taylor-Anne's in a good mood. My, my," Mr. Lockley raised an eyebrow at his daughter's unusually warm greeting. She was a good girl, but not the emotional type. Ruffling her brother's hair was the only sign of affection he ever noticed. But it was okay. He was never good with handling girls. Especially, after Molly left. _

_"Yeah, yeah" Taylor grabbed a plate full of waffles and a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. _

_"Leave some for Matt!" her father yelled at her but she was already on the stairs._

_"Teenagers," he muttered to himself and sipped his coffee. _

_Samantha sniffled the air a couple of times to make sure that she wasn't mistaken. _

_"Waffles?" she said and opened her eyes to see a whole plate of those right in front of her face. _

_"Negative. Try again," Taylor joked moving the waffles to the nightstand and made some room for her friend to attack them. Sam eagerly munched on the first waffle._

_"Mhm… deliciously melting in your mouth waffles,"_

_"Bingo," Taylor smiled and observed the girl eating. She was still the same girl that used to stare into space in school and Taylor had to kick her under the desk when the teacher asked some question. The girl that a couple of jerks tried to push around during the breaks. They both were magnets for trouble. Usually, because Taylor had to make up for Sam's complete lack of a self-preservation instinct._

_"So… long time no see, eh?" Taylor started but Sam didn't let her finish._

_"I don't know what say to you," she took a sip of an orange juice "You want to ask questions I want to answer but I can't. You want to hear an apology but I doubt there's anything I could say to express how sorry I am. I…I don't know…So many things have happened I don't fully understand. People were hurt."_

_"It's alright," Taylor shushed and moved closer to rub Sam's shoulders reassuringly. "I'll take care of you. You can stay here as long as you want. I'll bring you food. Dad works late and Matt goes to the kindergarten. You'll have the whole house for yourself."_

_"Thank you," Sam said with a break in her voice. _

~oo0oo~

The pit's cover fell with a dull thud. The rage mixed with fear on Nathan's face was unmistakable and she couldn't help the surge of satisfaction. _How do you like it now, you fucking bastard,_ she thought.

"Let me out! You let me out!" he kept on screaming at her from the pit.

_Over my dead body! _ she almost spat but decided to keep her cool mask on. Meanwhile, Bernard was on his way with the rest of the survivors.

"He wasn't on the plane," she announced anticipating any other questions. They would just have to deal with her decision. She was an LAPD officer and knew her job well. _An ex-LAPD officer_, a voice in her head reminded her.

Naturally, Bernard was the first person to respond.

"What?" he shrieked.

_Stay cool,_ Goodwin instructed himself. _Not a good moment to lose your composure. _ He observed the scene with the rising sense of panic. This was not coming as he planned. For the first time he regretted not having Ben nearby giving him instructions. Now he was forced to improvise and that didn't bode well in the long run.

"We were in the air for 2 hours - I didn't see him once - not once" Ana explained.

"It's a big plane, Ana, just because you didn't..." he tried to reason.

Cindy interrupted him "No, I didn't see him either. I'm pretty good with faces, you know, with the passengers, and I did not see him," she insisted.

_Fuck, I don't like where it's all heading_, Goodwin thought.

"You're not all serious," he said frustration evident in his voice.

"He never talks about himself, Nathan. Every time I ask him anything, he just dodges," Libby added and he knew he was under heavy fire. The looks he got from the survivors confirmed him in the belief that the discussion was over.

Only Bernard seemed not entirely convinced "No, if he really were one of them why would he still be here?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Ana was unyielding. Her mind was set and there was nothing Bernard nor Goodwin, especially Goodwin, could say to make her change her mind. Goodwin was already on her Do-not-trust list. Along with Mr. Eko.

"You got a problem with this?" she asked Mr. Eko defiantly.

He stood in her way, somewhat far behind other survivors. Samantha was standing next to him but Ana didn't even cast a glance her way. She was busy challenging the bigger man to a glaring contest. Daring him to oppose her instead of keeping this annoying silent treatment.

_Two can play this game, _she thought and left the clearing.

~oo0oo~

_"Are you kidding me?"_

_Samantha recoiled at the harsh tone of Taylor's voice she was so unused to. She knew that her friend's outburst at her suggestion that it might have been the time for her to go was not motivated by anger but care. That was rational but she couldn't help being scared. Yelling was all too familiar. _

_"There are people after you. I've seen the bruises, Sam. Don't bother denying it," Taylor continued her tirade in spite of the blonde girl's reactions to her words. There was no time to sweeten the message. Sam had to understand that leaving was not an option._

_"It's been two weeks already. They won't find you here, Sam! They're probably waiting for you to leave your hideout and save them trouble. And you want to do just that?"_

_Taylor__ was right. At least partially. The fortnight passed uneventfully and she was grateful for that. Living in Taylor's house had its disadvantages. She had to wait for everybody to leave the house to use the bathroom and go to the kitchen. Taylor did her best to aid her with snacks and a TV set. They both were able to keep the secret. But this whole semi-peace was bound to end sooner or later. And to be honest, Samantha preferred it sooner. Everything was better than waiting. _

_And there was always the risk of getting her best friend in crossfire. As much as she loved pretending that everything was okay, she need to end it. _

_"I can't stay here forever," Sam said meekly. She tested the waters and luckily Taylor had the time to take a calming breath and was at least ready to discuss it._

_"I'm sorry, Sam," she sighed "It's just…"_

_"I know," it was funny how they both understood themselves well without words. A small smile lighted Sam's features and again Taylor wished that she would stay. Was it more for her own good or not, she wasn't quite sure. _

_"Can you at least stay until the end of the month. We'll get you prepared," Taylor tried a different approach. "It's not good to rush. We need to plan it."_

_Samantha contemplated the idea. A part of her thought that a couple of days wouldn't make a difference. But the other part knew that it would be best to leave immediately. She wasn't safe in her hometown. _

_"You're right. I should probably wait some more," she said and hated herself for being such a coward. But even more so, she hated herself for involving Taylor in her own mess. _

_The sound of a doorbell made her jump a little and she looked at her friend in fear. It was too late for a postman and too early for Taylor's dad to be back from the office. _

_"Stay here, I'll handle it," Taylor stated and run downstairs rushing her younger brother back to his room._

_"I got it, Matt. Go play with your cars,"_

_Once in the corridor she opened the top drawer of a cabinet and from underneath winter scarves and caps dug out a Smith and Wesson, Model 15. She decided that moving it elsewhere would cause too many questions so she left it there even when Sam came. Still, it had its advantages. For instance, right at that moment she was happy that her little brother didn't see her carrying a gun down the stairs. She put the gun behind her belt and gathering her courage opened the door._

_"My name is Richard Alpert. May I come in?"

* * *

_

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

Ana was digging out the pit when Libby entered the small clearing.

"Hey," she greeted the ex-cop and crouched next to her. She was clearly disturbed by something.

"Back at the beach," she said "the night they came back - you said that Nathan was gone for 2 hours? That he was missing? Creeps me out, Ana. Do you really think it's possible that one of us is one of them?"

Ana stopped digging and looked at the female doctor meaningfully. "Why do you think I'm digging this hole?"

"I don't see the connection," Libby replied.

"Wha—"

"I mean we all appreciate that you dig it on your own. And both me and Cindy are very excited. But I mean what it has to do with Nathan being a spy?"

Nathan jumped from the bushes yelling "I'm not a spy! I'm just angsty!"

"Like whatever, bro," Libby said.

"I mean it! This show needs more emo," he explained and left to sulk some more on his own.

"Wait a sec, Libby. What do you mean you're excited? What the hell do you think I'm digging this hole for?" Ana inquired.

"Hot tub?"

"What. The. Fuck."

Libby hurried to clarify "I mean we're all dirty and stuff and we thought that you wanted to make an isolated place for us to bathe. I'm fed up with seeing Bernard's hairy butt in the stream."

"Too much information," Ana flinched.

"So… we figured you're preparing a nice hot tub for us girls to, you know, have some fun and relax," Libby continued. " Wash our backs, rub the stress from our shoulders."

A couple of rapid heartbeats later.

"I hope you packed your bikinis," Ana said and started to dig vigorously.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 10

It was already a couple of hours after the sunset, remains of the fire usually crackling soothingly were now keeping Samantha awake. Every single sound was a stab reminding her of Nathan lying there trapped and hungry for the second day. It was Ana who did this to him but Sam felt equally responsible not doing anything to prevent this.

The camp was sleeping soundly. The events of last days kept them on edge expecting danger every single step. Ana was in charge, there were no doubts about it. But strangely enough, her leadership didn't bring ease. She was as agitated as they were. Only Mr. Eko seemed to be unfazed but in the time of danger he was also the most likely to stay behind and watch. More like an ancient monument than an actual hero.

Samantha looked again at the bag that she picked as hers after the crash and thought of the times when she carried all her belongings with her. The times when she actually had something of her own and the moment she was deprived of it.

~oo0oo~

"_My name is Richard Alpert. May I come in?" the tall dark-haired man asked politely and rushed passed the stunned girl catching her completely off-guard. Something was terribly wrong about that guy. Maybe it was his piercing eyes that had seen too much. Or maybe his hypnotizing voice. He was already in the middle of the stairs when the severity of the situation finally hit her hard. But it was too late. She whirled around and raced to catch him entirely forgetting about the gun. How does he know where Sam is? she asked herself absently as he barged into her room. Without thinking she rushed behind him and almost collided with his torso. _

"_What the …" she yelled almost losing balance and stumbled a few steps back. The full force of the man's stare was on her now._

"_Where is she?" he asked strangely calm again. _

"_Who the fuck are you?!" she countered angrily to cover the panic that started to form. _

"_We are the good guys, Taylor," he said ignoring her reaction at the mention of her name, "There are very dangerous people that were send to hurt her."_

"_I don't know what you're …"_

"_Her bag's on the bed," he cut her off. She blinked and risked a quick look to see Samantha's backpack with a half of its contents scattered on the bed. _

"_Shit," she cursed under her breath. I need to buy her some time, she thought._

"_How can I be sure that you're not one of the people that hurt her?" she asked defiantly. _

"_Is she injured?" he asked worriedly looking shaken by her words._

"_I don't know what you want from her, bastards, but I'm pretty sure that the bruises on her are not from falling from the bike," she retorted suddenly feeling a surge of confidence, "As far as I know right now she may be at the police station testifying against you. I bet they'll have a nice set of Identikit pics," she spat._

"_She wouldn't do that. The man that's after her collaborates with the police," he stated more to himself than to Taylor, "Listen, I know you're her friend and that she trusts you. If you want what's best for her, tell her to avoid familiar places. Here's a name of a bank and a number of the deposit box created for her by my employer," he took a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Taylor. She eyed it for a moment but took it from him. _

"_What's in the box?" she asked glancing at the name of the bank._

"_Answers to all of her questions" _

_Meanwhile, curled in the bathtub in the adjoining room, Samantha was listening intently. She had to weigh her options. Alpert most probably wasn't alone with his back up waiting for him somewhere near. She managed to take her wallet and a mobile phone and silently thanked God for small favours. First, she planned just to hide and wait for the stranger to go away but acted on instinct taking the most vital items. Why she hadn't taken the whole bag was beyond her but she had no time to cry over spilt milk. She had some extra money prepared for a moment like this. Enough for a plane ticket._

_The bathroom window was big enough for her to push through. Leaving her best friend behind was a hard decision. Almost as hard as leaving her mother was. Again, having no choice served as the final argument and a form of consolation. _

~oo0oo~

She shut her eyes tightly to fight off the nagging memory. _Focus, you must stay focused_, she chided herself, _You've stayed on the safe side for far too long_. _It's time to act._ Her bag was filled with mangoes and bananas Mr. Eko tried to feed her with. If she was fast enough she would be able to slip unnoticed. _What about the risk?_ a small voice at the back of her head reminded her. The voice was far too familiar.

"Just do it," she whispered almost inaudibly and steadily propped herself on her forearms, glancing at Mr. Eko's sleeping form. The giant man seemed to be deep in slumber so she risked standing up with the bag in her hand and looked around noting the sleeping figures. One makeshift bed was empty. Samantha's stomach flipped. It used to be Nathan's bed.

She tiptoed across the camp passing a lightly snoring Bernard praying that Ana was truly asleep. There was no way she would be able to talk herself through this.

Nathan was watching the stars from beneath the cover of his pit when he heard grass rustling. The footsteps were too light and careful for an animal. Whoever that was he was certainly trying to sneak up on him. He stood to meet the stranger and almost gasped when he saw Samantha's face. That was the very last person he would have expected. _Wasn't she all messed up after the jungle people attacked her?_ he wondered. She looked sane enough for him at that moment.

"I have some food for you," she whispered and he struggled to understand her. When the words were accompanied with bananas thrown his way he needed no explanations. He started to eat the fruit hungrily noting how every bit seemed to disappear the second it hit his tongue. He never thought bananas could taste so good. The girl was still there watching him finish his meal. Perhaps, it was his chance to get free.

"Hey, listen to me. Is there anything there you could throw here to help me get out of here? Rope would be perfect. Just be quiet. I'll deal with Ana. She's insane," he instructed in shushed voice.

"Nathan?" the girl asked.

_Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm trapped in the goddamn hole for God knows how long and she wants to chitchat?_ he thought.

"Are you one of them?" she inquired.

"What? No! I was on the plane!" he struggled to keep his voice quiet.

"I believe you. But I asked if you're one of them," she insisted. It was too dark to see Nathan's face but she could pretty much guess his emotions by the ice tone of his voice.

"I don't have a bloody idea what you're talking about. Throw me a rope and I'll explain everything. But first you need to …" he started but Samantha was already gone.

"Fuck," he cursed kicking the nearest stone.

~oo0oo~

"You think he's gonna confess to Ana?" asked Cindy looking at Libby although Bernard was also sitting the opposite of her listening to the conversation.

"I hope he will. It's been four days already and he's as stubborn as she is." Libby sighed.

Ana went to talk with Nathan again and survivors as usual waited for her to come back with some information. No such luck this far.

"What if he's not a spy? We might be holding captive an innocent man!" Bernard interjected.

"So why isn't he saying anything?" Libby explained somewhat irritated, "Every time Ana comes back she says he refuses to talk! An innocent person would probably be more persuasive. Ana is a cop. She knows a lot about interrogation."

"Exactly what I'm worried about," he muttered bitterly.

Ana's voice cut them all off. "Who gave him food?!" she yelled from the place they kept Nathan. The group exchanged disoriented glances and moved to meet Ana halfway.

"Who gave him food?" Ana repeated once meeting Libby, Cindy and Bernard. Goodwin was not far behind.

"What happened?" Cindy inquired suddenly scared that those people from the jungle returned for Nathan.

"I'm trying to find out what they did to us." Ana stated and looked squarely at Bernard. "And you're taking care of him?"

He immediately took offence "I didn't do anything. And what if you're wrong, Ana? We don't even know if there is a spy."

_I swear, one day I will shove those words down your throat,_ she thought furiously. _I'm stuck here with a bunch of idiots. Fuck it! _

"Whose idea was it to stay at the beach where they could pick us off one by one - his - Nathan's," Ana snapped.

Libby seemed to be on her side. "Well, they haven't come since you put him in there," she added.

"Who did it?" Ana repeated the question once more.

At that moment, Samantha entered the clearing, paler then usual and trembling like a leaf. It almost seemed she was feverish. The clogs in Ana's mind started to work but before the obvious conclusion formulated Mr. Eko stepped out from the jungle and stood in front of the girl with the look that said it all.

"You?" Ana said accusingly. She didn't need an answer but she certainly would appreciate one. Instead, Eko gave her a long meaningful stare that affirmed her suspicions and walked off leaving them shocked by his intervention. Ana was the first to regain her voice.

"Stay out of my way. Get it?" she warned the rest of the survivors and looked pointedly at each one of them to get her message across. _I will get Nathan into talking no matter what. Even if I have to kill him, _she thought and stormed off suddenly desperate to be left alone.

"Are you okay?" Libby rushed to Samantha's side and touched her forehead, "Girl, you're shivering! We need to lie you down."

"I'm fine" the girl said firmly and run off after Ana.

"Wait!" she yelled after the ex-cop.

"Go back, Sam," she retorted without looking back. Samantha struggled to keep up with her. They were both heading in the opposite direction of the camp but neither of them slowed the pace.

"Please, just listen to me!" she tried again grabbing Ana's wrist and pulling her to a stop. Ana took a few calming breaths and tried her best to not sound too harsh. The girl had been through hell. _Haven't we all? _Ana thought.

"I'm glad you feel better. But it's not the best time," she said through clenched teeth. Sam decided to get straight to the point. No more beating about the bush. No more standing against the wall and observing people she cared about get hurt.

"I think Nathan is innocent. He's just very introverted and angry at things. Like he's rebelling against you since you took charge and…"

"And how do you know?" Ana challenged finally sick and tired of being told what to think. Sam had no answer for that. She just knew and it should be enough. So why wasn't it?

"I…I just…"

Ana interrupted her "I'm gonna keep you safe. Those.." she stumbled over the word, "monsters won't get us. I promise you, I'll do whatever it takes. So let me take care of it. I know my job," she reassured.

"Ana?"

They both turned around to find Goodwin staring at them.

"Is everything okay?" he asked seriously. "Sam, you look pale as a ghost. Libby is worried."

Just then Ana noticed the state Sam actually was in. She mentally kicked herself for being such a hypocrite. She promised to protect them and there she was letting the traumatized girl run with her into the jungle.

"He's right. Enough of this nonsense. You need to rest even if I'd have to tie you to a tree. Come," she said in a lighter tone.

"It's okay. I'll take her," Goodwin volunteered and took Samantha by her forearm intending to guide her back to the camp.

"NO!" she shook him off stumbling backwards a few steps. Her fists clenched, breath ragged.

"You're just the same!', she shrieked on the verge of crying. "God, I was so stupid. You're both the same!"

Ana and Goodwin both watched the girl storm off shocked by her fit of anger.

~oo0oo~

Steak. A juicy, mouthwatering steak with lots of sauce. A carnivore's paradise. No veggies. Veggies are for kids to keep them in line. They send a message: Mommy and daddy are in charge so they can force you to eat this green stuff as much as they want so be nice. But sweet tender meat. Roasted to medium rare. He could almost smell it. A low grumbling noise in the pit of his stomach reminded Nathan that his steak would have to wait some more. How long he didn't know. He hoped the rest of the idiots in the camp would finally realize that Ana was a sociopath.

"Nathan," he heard his name whispered from above his head He recognized the voice and struggled to see the face in the darkness. _What was her name? She has a name, dammit_, he thought.

"Samantha?" he risked.

"You need to get away from here. It's not safe," the girl's pressing tone sent shivers down his spine.

"Just throw me a rope," he urged suddenly scared that she might change her mind. To his relief she finally did as she was told. He grabbed the coarse rope and started to make his way up when he heard a muffled noise followed by a heavy thud. Panic chilled his blood. Are the jungle people back for him? Or is it Ana?

"Sam? Are you alright?" he asked while still moving up. The cover of the pit was suddenly lifted and he saw a figure looming over him.

"It's me, Goodwin. The girl is right, you need to run. Grab my hand," the man offered and Nathan gladly complied. Once he made it he tried to look around for the girl and noticed her standing nearby. He couldn't see her face in the dark.

"Here," Goodwin handed him a small package. "There's some fruit in there, now just go."

Nathan nodded and asked "Which way's the beach?"

"That way, maybe 5 miles" said Goodwin indicating in the direction of the beach.

Nathan managed to make two steps before Goodwin snapped his neck with a sick crack that scared the birds from their nests. For a moment their flutter was the only sound in the air. Samantha watched as Nathan's body went limp in Goodwin's hands. _Is that it? _she asked herself. A man died in front of her and she was standing there unable to move a muscle. What was expected of her in a moment like that?

Goodwin ignored her for the time being focusing on hiding the body. Even when he disappeared from her sight carrying Nathan's body she stayed rooted to the ground. She vaguely noticed how the temperature seemed to get lower while her hands felt hot and sweaty. Will he come back to kill her too? Is this the right moment to run? To start screaming or at least lose consciousness? That seemed to be the right reaction seen on hundreds of B-rated horrors she used to watch as a kid. But she was never the one to react accordingly, right? No matter how much she tried to observe the 'normal' people around her, she never got the grip of their behaviour. So she stood there, scared senseless and shivering violently from the cold. Why is it suddenly so cold?

"Sam?" a soft voice right next to her ear was the final straw. If it wasn't for the hand roughly clasping over her lips and the weight of Goodwin's body crashing her into the ground, her scream would have woken up the whole camp for sure.

"Shut up!", he hissed in panic. "Calm down or you'll be next. I swear to God I won't hesitate one second," he warned pushing her deeper into the ground. It seemed to work as she stopped to emit any sounds. He still kept his hand over her mouth waiting for her to catch her breath through the nose. After a moment, he decided that she was more or less listening to him rather than acting like a scared rabbit.

"Listen to me very carefully, girl," he fixed her with his eyes "We're going to come back to the camp, lie down and pretend that nothing happened. You know why? This childish little outburst of yours made you the ideal suspect. So if you think you can go to Ana and tell her that I killed Nathan, think twice. I'll explain that I caught you releasing him and he got away before I could do anything."

The frightening logic of this scenario dawned on her and Goodwin immediately noticed the defeat in her eyes.

"Good girl," he almost purred.

~oo0oo~

The survivors were still deep asleep when they both slipped back into their places. Goodwin moved to lie next to Ana but not far away from Eko and Sam's beds. Just in case. His brain was working overload but after another hour of planning he finally fell asleep. Meanwhile, Sam was trying to stop shaking from the cold. A twig cracked somewhere near, trampled by a small animal. The sound strikingly similar to Nathan's…

She whimpered at the thought and clasped her head with her hands. _What to do, what to do_, she repeated her mantra once again.

She kept on repeating the words even when two hours later Cindy returned from checking on Nathan with a scream, "Ana Lucia, he's gone!"

She curled into a fetal position still repeating the words and holding the palms of her hands against her ears to block the commotion.

"What?" Ana's voice rung in Sam's head crystal clear over the repeated mantra.

"He's gone. Nathan's gone," Cindy's voice again.

"It's impossible!" somebody else yelled in disbelief. She didn't know who. The voice was dull and distorted.

People were running and then the camp was silent again. She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. She didn't have to look up to know that it was Mr. Eko trying to see if she's alright. But she wasn't alright. She was far from being alright and she wanted to scream just that at the top of her lungs. But instead stayed quiet_. Like the petty coward you really are_, the vicious voice in her head said and she didn't try to deny it.

By the time the rest came back and started packing in a rush to leave the camp, she'd got to the desired state of blissful numbness and let Mr. Eko do everything for her. It almost became natural to not utter a single word and let the flow of events rush pass her.

This time the parody of a religious procession was lead by Ana and Mr. Eko with his staff as a crosier and Goodwin along with Libby accompanying Sam in the middle. Cindy with Bernard closed the solemn march. It was for her safety in case of an attack but she felt trapped rather than safe. There was no possible path of escape. Nobody to run to. Nowhere to hide. Was there really a time in her life when it was otherwise? She could hardly believe it. It was so long ago and she missed it. She missed the semi-safety of her best friend's room. She missed her mother's hugs even though it seemed she was hugging a big stuffed doll. Wherever she went there was truly no safe place for her. All roads lead to this Island after all. It was about time to accept it.

~oo0oo~

"What is it?" Cindy asked the question that was on everybody's minds when they saw the metal doors.

"I don't know - some sort of bunker." Ana guessed. Her guts told her it was way more than that but she kept those thoughts to herself.

"Do you think it's theirs?" Libby asked worriedly. The answer to this question was obvious yet nobody dared to say it out loud. Before anybody could suggest their next move, Eko moved toward the door.

"What are you doing?" Ana snapped but Eko was faster as he opened the mysterious door to reveal a tunnel inside.

"I don't think it's the best idea. Look," said Bernard and pointed to the QUARANTINE sign on the inside of the door. All heads turned to Ana for the decision. They were curious of what could be inside but nobody was eager to risk their lives for it.

"The place looks desolated. Nobody has used this door for long time. I say it's safe enough," she declared. "We'll need torches."

Goodwin and Eko rushed to prepare some while the rest waited in anticipation. The mystery of their new find kept Sam off the bad memories. She focused hard on the tunnel but couldn't hear anything. That was no proof. Still, people could be inside. Once the torches were ready, Eko entered the bunker first leading the way with Goodwin and Ana close behind him. Everybody were too perplexed to make a small talk so they went in silence trying to notice any details that could explain the purpose of the metal tunnel.

Cindy's voice broke the heavy silence. "What is this place?"

" It looks like some sort of storage facility," Goodwin tried. In fact he knew exactly what it was. One of the Dharma Initiative stations now abandoned and left to decay. He only hoped that there were no weapons left. As he contemplated the worse scenario the bunker was lit by electrical light.

"Hey, come over here," Ana yelled from behind a large box and Goodwin once again prayed for no surprised inside. But something was inside. Something even worse than a gun. Bernard held a black object in his hands.

"Look at this. It's a radio," he said.

"What else in here?" asked Libby and took a glass eye from inside and a book which she handed to Eko. He looked at the worn cover and read 'Holy Bible'. This was his sign from Heaven. He chose the right path and the book would lead him.

~oo0oo~

"Hello? Hello, can anybody hear me?" Bernard tried to use the radio outside. The noise coming from the device seemed promising enough.

"The hills are blocking it," said Goodwin and grabbed the radio. "If we want a signal we need to get to higher ground. I'll do it."

_Over my dead body_, Ana thought. "I'll go with you," she offered with a smile concealing her fury. If Goodwin knew Ana better, he wouldn't get fooled. This kind of smile was usually followed by Ana's fist and a satisfying crack of a broken nose.

"Nah, you should stay here, Ana - get this place set up as a shelter," Goodwin knew he was making up excuses now but had no choice.

"We can all get it set up. We can make it back in a couple of hours, let's go," she continued with the same terrifying smirk. The rest was listening to this strange exchange of words with mixed feelings. Something strange was in the air and they felt it. But Ana's words were final. She took her staff and went with Goodwin slightly ahead of her. They both started to pant very quickly under the merciless sun nearing the noon. The hill was steep and it was all too easy to lose one's footing on the stones and convoluted roots paving their way.

"Why do you think they're doing this?" Ana was the first to speak. _What is she playing at?_ he mused again alert.

"Why do I think who's doing what?" he decided to play dumb.

"Them. Don't you ever wonder why they attack us?" she continued casually. He almost sneered at the word 'attack' but managed to keep calm.

"Maybe they're not attacking us," he insisted knowing that the conversation was heading to a a very dangerous zone.

"Yeah, they just drag us into the jungle every now and then - no real harm done," she joked and he fell for it again ignoring the underlying threat. He would have to pay for it later.

"Good point." he smiled at her with clenched jaw. _They're intruders on our Island and they dare to consider themselves victims_, he thought.

"Why do you think they take some of us and not the others?" Ana wasn't giving up. _Give her a probable answer. Say what she expects to hear_, Goodwin instructed himself.

"That first night they took the strongest of us - our quiet friend - three other guys. They're all athletic, tough, threats."

"They didn't take you," she pointed out. _Don't go there Ana. It won't end well for you_, he thought.

"Guess they changed their plan after two of them got killed," he replied looking her squarely in the eye. "Want to take a break?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," she agreed to his relief. He still didn't decide what to do once on the top of the hill. Putting the radio next to him, he sat on a rock in front of Ana.

"Can I have the knife?" he asked and was met with a stare that lasted just long enough to show her hesitation. He took out a mango and she finally gave him the knife. He cut a piece and gave her one. He really hoped she would drop the troublesome topic and trust him again. Why all the sudden suspicions? The girl stayed quiet so why?

"Thank you. Where do you think they got it? I mean, they don't even wear shoes. How'd they get an army knife?" Ana was persistent and for a moment he truly didn't know what she was talking about.

"Sorry?"

"The knife - it's U.S. military. Here. I'll show you," she said and reached for the knife.

"You see the tang stamp? This knife's probably 20 years old. You don't see these anymore, yet here it is, on this Island. Weird, huh?" she explained and asked after a moment of silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ana." he agreed although inwardly he begged her not too. For her own sake.

"When you ran out of the jungle the day of the crash - how did you find Bernard up in the tree?"

He was somewhat prepared for more uneasy questions ready to provide a good lie but this one question managed to catch him off guard. The silence that followed it stretched until he offered "I heard him shouting from the beach."

"From the beach?" she questioned doubt evident in her voice_. Is this what you really want, Ana? So be it_, he thought.

"Why are you asking me about that, Ana?" he challenged tired of her games. For a moment the rage simmering inside of the ex-cop turned her features into a scowl but again she forced it down.

"Did he see you out there?" she started deciding to end the whole pitiful show now and then. Goodwin stayed silent but his eyes held all evidence she ever needed. "Is that why you pretended to be one of us? You ran out of the jungle 10 minutes after the crash, you weren't wet. You were never even in the ocean. Where are they - your friends? Nathan - what did you-"

" If you had cut off his finger and he still told you he was on the plane, I think maybe you would have started to believe you had the wrong guy," he explained matter-of-factly leaving her shocked at his cold blooded words.

"Did you kill him?" she had to ask. She had to hear it out loud.

"Nathan was not a good person. That's why he wasn't on the list," Goodwin said calmly. There was no need to panic. She was alone. And he was experienced.

" What about the kids? Did you kill them, too?"

"Children are fine. They're better off now," he almost laughed at her suggestion. They were not murderers. If not for the survivors' stupidity, nobody would have got hurt.

_You fucking bastard_, she thought just before charging him with all her strength. The rage she mustered through all the days on the Island paid off in her moves. She was like a wild force of nature against him and a thought of failure crossed his mind. She punched him hard in the stomach and he saw stars behind his eyes. The metallic taste appeared on his tongue. He stumbled onto his back groaning in pain.

"Goodwin!" someone screamed and both he and Ana looked up to see Samantha standing not far away from them. _What the…?_ Ana thought dumbfounded.

"Run! She knows we weren't on the plane!" Goodwin yelled. Grabbing his staff he charged at Ana using her shock to his advantage. He played his last card but she was faster. They both rolled off the hill but Ana grabbed the stick before Goodwin could jump at her again. The weight of his body fell straight on the pointed part of the stick impaling him. She looked in his eyes as life disappeared from them and at the very moment heard a girl's piercing scream.

"Sam," she spat and moved Goodwin's body off her. The instances of the girl's strange behaviour played through her head forming an almost perfect picture. Samantha was the ideal spy. A cheerful girl nobody would have suspected. The poor girl nobody ever questioned because she seemed so fragile. Ana was exhausted from the struggle but didn't feel it. She was empty inside. Like a mechanical robot climbing painstakingly the hill to face the young girl she trusted. The young girl she held in her arms through the night.

When she made it to the place her fight with Goodwin started, she saw Sam's skinny form kneeing on the ground and whimpering pitifully. Her body was shaking with violent sobs. The sight made Ana sick. She looked like a beaten puppy.

"Say it isn't true," Ana heard her own voice but it sounded different. Almost pleading. But Samantha was unable to say anything. She just kept wailing annoyingly and the sound hurt Ana's sound.

"Just fucking say it isn't true!" she screamed starting to feel the fury coming back again. God help her to keep it cool for some more.

Samantha's doe eyes snapped to Ana. They were filled with dread. And something else. Something Ana couldn't quite pinpoint at first but then she understood. The girl was looking at her with fury matching her own.

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

"The knife - it's U.S. military. Here. I'll show you," she said and reached for the knife.

"You see the tang stamp? This knife's probably 20 years old. You don't see these anymore, yet here it is, on this Island. Weird, huh?"

"Can I have the H&K G11?" he asked trying to divert the conversation to a safer topic. She still seemed apprehensive but handed him the rifle.

"For me it's just a knife. Some obnoxious hiker probably left it behind," he shrugged picking his tooth with the bayonet.

"It might have been a German hiker. Let me show you," she nodded at the rifle in his hand.

"The rifle – it's a German assault rifle. But fair enough, fellow Americans wanted it as well for their Advanced Combat Rifle program."

"See, there's your explanation," he said smiling triumphantly.

"I mean, I could agree with the knife or the rifle. I mean, a German U.S. military hiker seems legit enough. But what about the flamethrower?"

"He had to roast his marshmallows somehow," he offered hoping that Ana would just let it be.

But she was just too stubborn. "And the bazooka?"

"Those pesky mosquitos."

"Why couldn't he use the bayonet?"

"Because he had marshmallows on it, obviously" he snorted and rolled his eyes for good measure. She didn't seem to buy it.

"And it was a keepsake from his grandmother?" he tried again.

"Wait a second," she eyed him suspiciously and he gulped. "Was she the one who packed the marshmallows for him?"

"Exactly!" he exclaimed happy with himself.

"I totally believe this wacky story."

"Thanks, I tried hard. High five!"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Summer holidays are here and my inspiration was playing tricks on me lately. Do you know this feeling when you know what you want to say but the words are just not there? Perhaps, it's just me and the fact that I'm not a native speaker. It's so frustrating and I hate to leave you waiting so long. I started to write this chapter three times. Each time I wrote half a page and then stopped. What a painful process. I hope your reviews (if you aren't too mad at me, I'm so sorry for the delay!) will inspire me. Hell, I know they will :) **

**This chapter has been beta-read by wonderful **girlinterrupted22**. Thank you so much. **

**A little explanation for the chapter for those who might not remember what the hell is happening in the story: The previous chapter was filled with some revelations. The ones we know from the show and some new ones. Goodwin turns out to be a spy and right before he's killed by Ana, he screams at Samantha, who suddenly appeared in the scene, that she hadn't been on the plane. This chapter is an aftermath in which some important secrets will be finally revealed. But some will still remain. **

**Ending of Chapter 11: **

_**"Just fucking say it isn't true!" she screamed starting to feel the fury coming back again. God help her to keep it cool for some more.**_

_**Samantha's doe eyes snapped to Ana. They were filled with dread. And something else. Something Ana couldn't quite pinpoint at first but then she understood. The girl was looking at her with fury matching her own.**_

CHAPTER 12

She was suspended by invisible chains amidst the coal black abyss, with nothing to separate her from the pain as it slipped under her skin. It ran like a sickeningly thick syrup spreading into black and blue stains; slowly covering her whole right side in constant throbbing. Small spots of light surfaced under her eyelids and the chains lost their grip. Without opening her eyes to the sharp light of the room, carefully as not to cause herself more pain, she moved her hands and touched her ribs. It hurt, but they didn't seem to be broken. She knew where she was before even looking around. The scene felt all too familiar. She was bound; perhaps not with handcuffs but a piece of rope; aching almost everywhere and completely defeated. The last part hurt the most.

"It's all your fault," someone said from behind her. Sam wasn't able to turn around in her current condition. She was facing the metal wall lying on dirty blankets found by the survivors in one of the boxes.

Was it really her fault?

"Why of course, cupcake. Never doubt that," a voice answered her inner question.

~oo0oo~

_"Tell me it isn't true. Tell me that you're not one them, that you're not involved in kidnapping all those people. The kids. Sweet Jesus, you played ball with them," Ana sneered disgusted advancing slowly towards the girl._

_"Is Samantha even your real name?" she inquired not really expecting an answer. Not really caring about the answer. For her, the girl was no longer Samantha, but a spy. This was the girl's new name._

_Another step. She was now almost at the shoulder-length. The steel in the girl's eyes was now evident. The features Ana used to consider innocent and childish now screamed betrayal and lies. Her fists clenched almost on their own and a reddish haze clouded her vision for a second. She was ready to tear the girl to pieces. But Samantha wasn't going to let that happen. Slowly, she shifted weight entirely onto her right leg, moving from a kneeling position into a semi-crouch. Her right hand rested behind her on the ground for balance and a starting point._

_"Oh no you don't..", Ana yelled and bolted for the girl, missing her shoulder by mere inches. Instead of moving to the right as expected, Sam sprang like a bullet under Ana's left arm, running in the opposite direction. The seconds wasted as Ana lost her balance gave the girl the upper hand. The bitch is fast, Ana thought, running after her._

_She was fast. The best runner for the 100 meter race in the entire school. For short distances it was vital to establish the top speed very fast and try to maintain it for as long as possible. Steepness of the hill worked to her advantage, propelling her. Wind whizzed in her ears, tousling her blond hair. There was nowhere to run to, yet she couldn't stop. When you run nothing else matters other than the wind cooling your skin. She forgot about her sandals, about the floral dress almost in tatters, and about the reasons that made her run in the first place. The thing with short distances is that you can invest as much strength as you have into this initial speed. But running for longer distances requires you to plan in advance. The more she ran, the more her willpower started to melt. She felt rather than heard Ana getting closer. After an exhausting trek and many days without eating properly, she was living in stress bordering on depression. It all worked against her and it was hard to tell whether it was a misplaced step or a rock or her own mistake that made her fall. Whatever it was, it sent her rolling down straight against a tree where darkness finally engulfed her._

~oo0oo~

Samantha was now fully awake and finally somebody noticed her stirring. Survivors exchanged worried glances. The discussion over the girl's fate turned into a full-blown argument. It was finished only by Ana smashing her fist against the tree and Mr. Eko leaving the camp for a couple of hours only to come back after the sunset just as silent and seemingly unaffected as before. A pregnant silence hung in the room. All eyes rested on Ana sitting next to the control panel on one of the boxes. It was her move now and she knew it.

The rational part of her knew that she was in no state to question the girl, but at the same time she wouldn't let anybody do it without her assistance. However, her rage fueled side told her to wake the girl with a bucket of salt water and a kick in the ribs to prevent Sam from having the time to weave another net of intricate lies and semi-truths. Ana had to be patient and plan it all out. It was entirely against her nature, but she already lost so many innocent lives and couldn't afford any more. Goodwin insisted that the kids were fine and he seemed to deeply believe in it. She had no choice but to trust him on this one thing and calm down. Her own hot temper could screw everything up, so she glanced at Libby and gave her silent permission to proceed.

The female doctor took her cue and approached the girl with a bottle of water in one hand and mango in the other. "Can you sit?" Libby asked directly but without looking the girl in the eye. Sam didn't move nor say anything, causing Ana to snicker bitterly at the doctor's attempts. The little bitch tricked us all and she pretends to be Mother Teresa, Ana thought angrily and decided to screw the rational part.

"Move," she barked at Libby as none too gently grabbed Sam's arm. Turning her around she propped her forcefully against the wall. She ignored the girl's sharp cry of pain and forced the bottle into her bound hands. "Drink. I need you conscious," Ana ordered.

"Listen to what the lady says." Samantha's eyes moved over Ana's shoulder to locate the owner of this voice. The bottle fell, spilling it's contents on Sam's legs.

"Watch it!" Ana yelled reaching for the half-spilt bottle. She looked at the girl and noticed that she was now unusually pale. Her eyes were staring at something directly behind Ana. She turned around but found nothing there. Libby was on her right sitting nearby with Cindy and Bernard. Eko was standing against the wall carving more letters into his walking stick. Yet the girl seemed scared of something.

Ana was wrong about that. Samantha wasn't scared. She was petrified. Behind Ana, standing as real as ever, was her mother, sporting her favorite yellow apron and smiling her usual meaningless smile.

Ana snapped her fingers in front of the girl's eyes to gain her attention

"We need to have a little chat so stay focused," she said. "And I'm asking you for the last time to drink the fucking water."

Finally, Sam took the water from Ana and gulped it, enjoying the cold liquid against her dry throat. When she finished drinking she risked a glance behind Ana only to find that her mother was still there.

"It can be sweet and short or long and messy. You're better off with the first option." Ana offered the girl nothing but water. Left without a response she asked bluntly, "Where are the people you and your friends kidnapped?"

Silence. Sam focused on the stain left by water on the blanket she was sitting on as if it held all the answers.

"Where are the kids, Sam?" Ana continued.

Four shallow and tired breaths. Her chest was getting more and more painful.

SMACK. A red mark on her cheek to perfectly match the flowers on the dress. She looked up at Ana in surprise not really expecting her to turn to violence so quickly. And it was only the first question of many she couldn't answer.

"Not quick enough. Where are the kids?" Ana asked coldly, ignoring the commotion after she hit the girl. Nobody dared to intervene. Nobody even made a sound of protest. It was all done for the greater good, right? It was all for the kids! Innocent beings placed God knows where. They simply had no choice, and in the days to come this was going to be their justification. Feeble, but still the only the only one they had.

"I don't know," Samantha answered simply, as if it was the only possible answer. Ana fought the urge to slap her again regardless of what she said. This "matter of fact" tone the girl adopted was driving her crazy-exactly the reason why interrogation at that moment wasn't her best idea. She searched the girl's face for any traces of lying but to her own dismay found none. The girl either didn't know the answer or was really good at pretending not too.

"Be a good girl," her mother smiled sweetly at her daughter.

"Mum…" Sam mouthed.

"Stop mumbling, I can't hear you," Ana barked. "What did you say?"

The girl took a deep breath and swallowed down. "I don't know where they are. I would have told you if I knew…"

"Bullshit,"

"What do you want me to say?!" Sam snapped angrily, finally fed up with Ana's refusal to simply listen. She lost all her faith in the ex-cop the moment she killed Goodwin, but every attempt at rebuilding it seemed to be futile. The rope on her hands reminded her of that.

"I want you to tell me the truth,"

The more agitated Sam was, the more calm Ana became. It was the oldest trick every cop knows. The angrier they get, the bigger the chance they will eventually snap.

"You're the one lying, Ana. I'm trying to tell you the truth but you don't want to listen," Sam said icily and looked deep into Ana's eyes. "I'm very sorry…But I won't tell you anything" Her last words were almost a whisper, yet they all heard her loud and clear in the surrounding silence. Libby's stomach turned into a ball of ice and she suddenly felt the need to throw up. She made an attempt to move towards Ana correctly predicting the worst but wasn't fast enough.

~oo0oo~

_The heavy beat pounded from the speakers, hammered its way into the walls and rebounded at the sweaty twirl of bodies on the dance floor. There were no pairs, nor singles-just a pulsing mass of people moving in unison to the rhythm. The place was full, but new guests were still arriving. No selection necessary. The more people the better. A man in his early thirties wearing a white shirt with a scent of very expensive and very trendy perfume ogled the slender form of girl sitting by the bar and highly doubted she was legal enough. He didn't care. This was his night, so screw the world. Screw his uncle and his crazy coworkers. It was time to party hard. He approached the young-looking girl, watering his lips in appreciation of her legs covered in thigh high fishnets._

_"Well, hello there, beautiful," he said, forgetting about the noise around him. She noticed him nonetheless and turned around so he could get a better view of her pale face._

_"Amazing eyes. So what's the name of the owner?" he yelled in her ear over the bass, trying to catch a glimpse of her cleavage that was partly obscured by many layers of long chain necklaces. He nodded his head at the bartender to get his attention and ordered two glasses of Jack and Coke. Moving one drink next to her, he put on the most charming smile from his inventory. This seemed to be working, as she drank from the glass and curved her lips slightly in what could be interpreted as a promise of a smile._

_"Samantha," she shouted back._

_"Thomas, nice to meet you. Lets find a cosy place to sit, shall we?" He beckoned with his glass for her to follow him, and she did just that._

_The club had two floors, with the first being basically a dance floor with several booths and the second with far more comfortable rooms one could book in advance. Music vibrated in his shoes as they climbed the stairs and walked in the dimly-lit corridor._

_"Only for special guests." A rough hand grabbed his sleeve, forcing him to stop in his tracks. The owner of the hand was nearly two times as big as he was and he had to look up to meet the angry stare of a muscular man wearing a 'staff' t-shirt._

_"That's exactly who we are," he answered, smoothly slipping a bill in the larger man's pocket._

_"Room number 18 is free. Enjoy yourselves," the bulky man replied after carefully eyeing both of them._

_Thomas took the key from the man's hand and motioned for the girl. "Ladies first."_

_The room had a slightly burlesque feel to it, painted black and red with an enormous bed and lots of cushions scattered around. The person responsible for the design clearly had only one goal in mind, since beside the bed there was only one bed stand and a chair kept most probably for the private lap dances rather than book reading._

_"I've never seen you around. You're from out of town?" Thomas said, making himself comfortable on the bed. She stood in place in the middle of the room sipping on her drink and avoiding eye contact._

_"You could say that," she answered cryptically, but clarified after another sip. "I'm more like a free spirit wandering around."_

_"Problems at home, eh?" he said moving his eyebrows up knowingly._

_"Busted," she smiled and he put his glass on the bed table tapping the place on the bed near him._

_"Come here, girl."_

_She hesitated for a moment and he sensed her uneasiness. If I'm lucky, she might be a virgin. What a night, he mused._

_"Don't be so scared. I won't bite," he reassured her, holding his arms up in mock surrender._

_"Pinky promise?" he grinned at her earning an honest laugh from the girl._

_"I'm sorry. It's just I rarely go to clubs and it's all new for me," she tried to explain herself finally sitting next to him._

_He took the glass from her hand and put it next to his glass on the table. "It's okay. Not that I'm a frequent visitor here either. Relax," he slowly inched closer to her. "You're gonna be just fine." His voice trailed off by landing a sensual kiss on her exposed shoulder without breaking the eye contact. A small moan escaped her parted lips, and she closed her eyes, so he continued his ministrations. This time his hand caressed her neck. Inhaling the scent of her long blond hair, he moved it aside and exposed the porcelain skin of her back. He started to kiss the delicate skin on her shoulder blade moving to the front where the necklaces left some room on her body. He tenderly kissed the collar bone and then slightly lower noticing with rising satisfaction how her breath turned rapid._

_"Do you want me to continue?" he murmured seductively against her skin while his right hand began its way up her inner thigh._

_"I'm afraid not," was the last thing he heard before a sudden blow to the back of his head sent him right into darkness._

~oo0oo~

The fact that she put so much force behind the blow surprised even Ana herself. It was the first time in her life she had hit a woman, a girl, without holding back. She could almost feel the explosion of pain and brightness, watching Sam's contorted face and the accusingly red blood starting to pool in the corner of her mouth.

Libby gasped in shock and exchanged worried looks with Cindy. She firmly put her hand on Ana's shoulder. "I think it's enough for today"

The ex-policewoman took a few seconds to collect herself and looked hard in Libby's eyes, projecting all her feelings.

"We're not finished here. I need to know the truth. I need to hear it NOW," she insisted.

To the surprise of the two women it was Sam who spoke next. "I'll explain myself... But please, don't hurt me," she pleaded with her head down.

Survivors exchanged silent looks looking for reassurance to let Ana proceed. Her methods were cruel and they were sure that she was capable of much more. They watched her drag one of the boxes to the center of the room and sit on it facing Samantha. The girl could have very important news about the rest of the survivors and maybe even could get them home. The price was small enough.

"Good choice. Lets start from the very beginning," Ana started wanting to do it the proper way. Blood trickling slowly down Sam's chin reminded her to cool off. Beginning a proper LAPD interrogation would put her back in place. They were not savages after all.

"Name?"

"Samantha Gilman," the girl answered quickly like a schoolgirl looking the ex-cop straight in the eye. Good girl, Ana thought with relief.

"Age?"

"18."

"Where are the kids?" Straight to the point. Too much time already wasted.

"I don't know," Sam answered without hesitation and quickly added afraid to be interrupted "But if I had any clue about it I would have told you much earlier," she emphasized, looking hurt that she may be accused of concealing such important piece of information.

"Lets assume that I believe you. But why were you sent here? What do your people want from us?"

Sam shut her eyes and sighed resigned. When she started to talk her voice was steady and controlled.

"I was not sent here. I have no idea who are those people…"

"Fucking lies…"

"I WAS ON THE PLANE!" Sam finally screamed, opening her eyes and locking them with Ana's again. The room fell utterly silent. She could almost hear the beating of her heart echoing off the walls. Again it was Sam who broke it, rushing to explain herself. .

"God, why don't you understand! So many people have died, and others were kidnapped." tears streaked down her cheeks "… and the kids… I could only stand and watch them go. I'm so useless, Ana. I can't fight. I didn't know what to do! I should have done something. Anything! And then…then when I thought it's gonna be okay, that you're gonna take care of us all…" Her sobbing made her almost inaudible. "I saw you kill a man. I saw you kill Goodwin. He yelled something to distract you. I can't even recall what it was. I only saw.. and his body.. his…"

Libby fought off the sudden urge to hug the girl like she used to so many times before. She was still processing her words and most importantly, she was still waiting for Ana's reaction.

"What was your seat number?" the male voice caught Sam off guard and she looked up for a moment forgetting about the tears and half-expecting to see Mr Eko but she saw Bernard instead.

"I mean, if you were on the plane, then what was your seat number?" he repeated, slightly surprised by his own boldness since all eyes were now on him.

"36A, by the window," Sam answered quickly jumping on the opportunity. "And I think I remember you. When the turbulence started you came from the middle section and took a seat in the front row."

"That's true! I was in the bathroom and got scared so I sat down in the random seat but I was supposed to sit in the middle section!" Bernard looked around beaming that Sam's story began to make sense. He only told Libby and Mr Eko about the seat switch and his wife and believed that they didn't tell anybody else.

"Ana, she's telling the truth!" he yelled enthusiastically looking around. Libby and Cindy smiled at each other. The female doctor waited for Ana to make the last move before rushing to help the girl. The ropes must be very uncomfortable. And the state of her dress was unspeakable. She also needed a proper meal and maybe some medical attention for her bruising. The girl's innocence might be troublesome in the long run because they still knew close to nothing about the whereabouts of the kidnapped survivors but for the moment they were happy that the interrogation would come to an end. Finally.

~oo0oo~

_For a moment Thomas thought he was still in the club because the infuriating sensation of somebody stamping on his head wearing combat boots reminded him of the bass attacking his senses from the speakers. Reality proved to be worse than he expected. Next thing beside the headache he noticed was the coldness of the cement floor on his cheek and the fact that he was in a horizontal position rather than sitting on the bed with a gorgeously underage blond girl._

_"The girl…" he mumbled, abruptly moving to a sitting position. It wasn't one of his brightest ideas that day._

_"FUCK!" he cursed loudly, gripping his head which at that moment threatened to split in half. The strong echo of his voice scared him, and he looked around in panic. The hall he was in seemed to be a former warehouse with rows of empty racks slowly vanishing in darkness. The only source of light were two large lamps providing artificial light from directly above him. He looked himself over and found that his left foot was now handcuffed to the rack with a relatively long chain. It looked long enough for him to stand and take a couple of steps but not enough to reach the metal door on the left side of the hall. He would need a chain at least 5 times as long to do that._

_All of a sudden, the door he was assessing burst open and three men entered the hall with heavy steps, breaking the overall silence. Two of them were dragging the blond girl from the club by her upper arms while the third man held a gun and closed the door behind them._

_"Hey! Who are you?! It must be some sort of a misunderstanding!" Thomas tried to get their attention, but they seemed completely unfazed. They handcuffed the unconscious girl to the opposite rack in a similar manner and left the room, wordlessly ignoring both requests and threats Thomas made._

_"Fuck. Shit. Damn it!" he cursed as they left._

_"Keep it cool. Most probably it's about a ransom so they can't hurt you," he tried to reason out loud. Uncle is a big fish and most probably is involved in some shady business to keep his bioscience laboratory going, but nothing too dangerous as far as I can tell. You may be Mother Teresa but as long as you have cash there will be someone wanting to either kill you or kidnap your family to steal you some happiness. It's just how the cookie crumbles. No big deal. They'll get the money, you'll get your freedom._

_His train of thought aimed at calming him, but his heart seemed uninterested and refused to stop its gallop. He might not have been truly aware of the reason behind it, or was perhaps simply refusing to acknowledge the fact that there was something more than just "shady" about his uncle and his co-workers. It was unnerving, and as long as they let him live his life with enough money in his pocket, he didn't ask any questions._

_The girl was starting to wake up. She was wearing the same clothes as in the club but without her shoes._

_"Hey! Are you all right?" he asked, drawing her attention._

_She rubbed her eyes and moved so she was sitting on her heels before she finally looked at him in surprise._

_"Thomas? What happened?"_

_"I hoped you could tell me," he said bitterly, and after seeing her confused expression added, "I have no idea why are you here or who are those guys who brought us here are, but I think they're after my uncle's money, so don't worry. We're safe as long as he pays them. And he will."_

_She didn't seem to be convinced but rather even more worried. Her big doe eyes were filled with fear and he suddenly felt this urge to make her feel better. He didn't have the time or intentions of getting to know her, but at that moment an odd urging to protect her overwhelmed him. She looked so fragile, but at the same time so very sensual in her skimpy black dress. He gulped, perplexed. The day was getting stranger and stranger, if it was even still the same day. He wasn't quite sure if had slept for the whole day or just a couple of hours._

_"Are you sure that you're uncle's going to pay them?" she asked in small voice._

_Fuck, no, he thought honestly but said "Of course, he will. Why wouldn't he? He used to be my father's best friend."_

_"Used to?" she repeated, catching him off-guard. He wasn't prepared to delve into his family matters._

_"My father died long time ago and my uncle promised to take care of me sort of. He mostly paid for my education and other needs. I'm sure he'll help us out," he explained._

_God, please don't let it be his own mess, Thomas thought._

_"What's his name?" she asked._

_"Huh?" The girl was full of surprises. Why would she like to know his uncle's name? Would it make any difference?_

_"What's your uncle's name?" the girl clarified. What was HER name? Sammy? Samara? he thought._

_"Eh, his name is Tom. Tom Friendly. He's not really my dad's brother but they were close friends when I was a kid so.. yeah," he blurted out, surprising himself with this sudden burst of honesty. He looked away, suddenly embarrassed without any rational reason. The silence was again broken by doors being open. This time only the guy with a gun entered the hall and walked straight towards Thomas._

_"Get up," he barked pointing his gun at the handcuffed man._

_"Okay, okay. I'll do as you say. You don't need a gun…" Thomas started to say while standing up but was cut off by the man backhanding him viciously._

_"HOLY FUCK! Why did you do that?!" he screamed in pain, propelling himself on the rack._

_"Shut the fuck up! One more word coming from this mouth of yours and I won't be so gentle. Do you understand?!" the man snapped, putting the gun to Thomas' head making him nod vigorously in agreement._

_"Great. Now don't move a muscle or I'll shoot you in the leg," he said, and bent down to take off the man's handcuffs._

_"Move," he instructed, pointing to the door with his gun. Thomas took the hint, and with hands up he let the armed man lead him through the doors. On his way out he glanced at the still sitting girl. She followed him with her eyes trying to communicate all words of support she could think of._

_Shortly after Thomas left the room, three more men entered the room. The one in the middle was an elderly gentlemen sporting a good suit and perfectly matching tie._

_"I must deeply apologize for your conditions, Miss Gillman. But those are the necessary costs we all have to pay," he said with a charming smile._

_"I'm fine, Mister Widmore," she responded._

_"So what about our dear friend here? Do you think he's involved?" He addressed her while one of the man beside him gave her a bottle of water and some simple food on a plate._

_"Not personally. But his uncle, Tom Friendly, definitely is," she said between bites of food. " He mentioned some sort of laboratory."_

_The elderly man became visibly interested in this piece of information._

_"Laboratory? Did he mention anything about bioscience or a word 'Mittelos'?" he asked._

_"Just the first one," she replied, taking a drink of water from the bottle. Although she was spared a blow to a head she still had to be unconscious, and the injection she'd been given made her now a bit thirsty and light-headed._

_"Anything else worth mentioning?" he inquired politely, waiting for her thoughts on the matter while his mind was already set._

_"I… I think he isn't a bad person. He's not involved," she tried to formulate her thoughts properly which was hard with Widmore still next to her. He seemed to make her head hurt._

_"He's not involved but he will be soon enough," the man commented watching in amusement the shock in girl's eyes. She was still young and naïve. Merely 20 years old and reminding him of his own daughter, Penelope. They both seemed oblivious to the rules governing this world. That's exactly why he was the one in charge._

_"We'll let him go without any explanations. He'll surely try to contact his uncle. If he's as stubborn as I heard he is, he'll eventually start asking inconvenient questions and if we're lucky, his uncle might start giving him answers."_

_"He knows my name," she informed him. He asked about her name so she gave it. Simple as that. She expected Widmore to get angry or scared, but he only smiled patronizingly at her._

_"He'll forget about you as soon as he gets away from here," he reassured her._

_"I wouldn't be so sure of it," she said, unconvinced, and thought, I think he's gonna try to find me, and for his own safety I hope he wouldn't._

~oo0oo~

"Ana?" Libby said in small voice. She was suddenly aware that there was something unknown in the air. Words unsaid. Questions not asked. Ana was standing perfectly still, and one could think that she was just thinking hard about something. But when Libby looked closely she noticed that her fists were clenched so hard that her knuckles were almost white. Samantha noticed the same thing but, as opposed to Libby, wasn't disturbed by it. She moved her eyes from Ana's hands to her face. If you ever had the misfortune of getting in Ana's way when she was in that state, the look of her eyes would haunt your for days to come. They were stormy black with sparks deep inside. The eyes of a panther waiting in ambush. The only option that could possibly grant you life was to turn around and run. But Sam did the exact opposite. She held Ana's steel stare stubbornly.

"Are you happy now? Is this what you wanted to hear?"

Libby looked at the girl and that again at Ana not really comprehending the exchange she was witnessing.

"I can tell you stories like this one. Or I can tell you nothing at all."

Tables were turned. Determination and cold appraisal in the girl's eyes didn't even shock Ana. From the moment she saw the same look, there on the hill when Ana disposed of Goodwin, she accepted the fact that she was fooled underestimating Samantha. Those eyes have seen pain, violence and death. She might have been a weakling, a mere girl that could be slapped around and bullied. But those eyes betrayed the steadfastness mirroring only in her own.

Ana stood up slowly and turned to Libby. Her voice was strangely calm, almost mocking as if she was tired of playing the cop and returning to the more informal context.

"Patch her up and give her some food," she instructed. "And new clothes"

Libby was puzzled. "Why do you…"

"But don't say a word to her," Ana voice was suddenly chilly and dead serious. She was talking about Sam as if she wasn't even there addressing everybody around instead. "Nobody here is to talk to her. Not a single word. Nobody talks around her. If you want to talk with somebody else, do it outside. If she is around, communicate as little as possible. Don't think of her as a person anymore. She's lost this privilege."

Samantha didn't even flinch when Libby washed her cracked lip with a piece of cloth. She stayed perfectly still when her head was turned from side to side so that the doctor could watch for any other injuries. She bit down groans when cold fingers felt her ribs and bruises from the fall. Her eyes stayed glued to the lone figure standing in the opposite corner of the room. The pain, the humiliation and the utter loneliness she was experiencing were channeled into this smirking person, her mother. It hurt even more to look at her, to remind oneself that saving this skinny looking woman was once priority, her sole reason for existing.

~oo0oo~

_When Samantha was still a kid and blissfully unaware of the adult's matters, her father died in a car accident, leaving his loving wife and daughter on their own. She was a daddy's girl. His sweet little princess who he would stuff with candy and shower with girly dresses with puffy skirts. She was given as much love as he could possibly give her. He could have divided this affection between the two most important women in his life but he knew that since giving birth his wife Charlotte would never be the same. They grew apart so easily that he didn't even notice it. Spending time with his little Samantha was easier than the coldness of his wife's eyes. _

_He wasn't the type of a guy who would talk about emotions. Sure, he could fix an antenna or glue the drawer but comprehending his wife's state was beyond him. Once, he had heard of this strange female disease called depression and only knew it had something to do with delicate nerves. So wasn't leaving her in peace the best solution? _

_When that truck took away his life, his wife was in the living room staring into TV. Police, friendly neighbors and a whole crowd of so-called relatives were nothing but a blur before her eyes, a strange parade of sad clowns sneering at her behind her back. They brought her food and some pills. Somebody even called for the priest as local authority to have her eat and rest. But she stayed on her coach staring at the TV, even when they switched it off. She heard a voice next to her saying that mommy wanted to be left alone, and she distinctly recognized it. _

_When the empty faces finally left her house, she sensed somebody in the room. Very slowly she turned her head and saw her daughter crying on the floor, the tears forming a large stain on her new dress. Long strands of blond hair clung to her wet face. She was a mess, an unfit element to her perfect environment she once created for herself. Taking care of the girl used to be one of her chores in the house, like ironing or washing the dishes. Samantha was such a polite and well-behaved child that she never gave her mother any reason to break this automatic routine. But in that moment, the look of her crying daughter turned her world upside down. _

_Under her skin she felt that something horrible must have happened, that nothing would be the same, that somebody was missing. So she stood up, went to the bathroom, and searched for a box of handkerchiefs. She knelt beside her daughter and carefully, very carefully, put the wet strands aside and wiped her face in silence. Cradling the girl in her arms she took her to the bathroom to wash her and give her pajamas. It was about the time to go to sleep. She even sung a lullaby when Samantha was already in bed. She would take care of her, and would protect her no matter what. Thinking about anything else was just too painful, and tending to this child was what she chose to do instead._

~oo0oo~

"I love you, honeybun," the shadow of her mother whispered tenderly. She knew it wasn't really her mother, the one she had to leave behind to keep her safe. Whoever, or whatever it was there standing in the room was not her mother. It was a pale shadow of what her mother used to look like in those younger, brighter days. What could have been a ray of light in her present situation was now a stab of raw pain in her heart. She let Libby wipe her body just like she let her mother wipe her face. But she wasn't crying and the person tending to her was scared of her. There were no tears left. They all betrayed her and she no longer cared. Her stomach would be full, her once naked arms covered in a long-sleeved checked shirt given by Bernard. Still, that night she would pray for death.

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

_"Anything else worth mentioning?" Widmore inquired politely._

"_No, not really,"she replied after searching her memory for any relevant information._

"_Are you sure?" he asked with raised eyebrows. He was clearly implying something but she had no clue what was it._

"_I'm sure."_

"_You spend some time with this guy in a closed space and it would be only natural for you to use it to fulfill your needs," he continued smirking knowingly._

"_Wait. What?" She was completely thrown off balance and really sure if she understood him properly. _

"_Well, there's nothing wrong in doing it," he offered._

"_I don't know the IT in that sentence."_

"_You know," he blushed "The ole' in and out."_

"_I don't think I'm keeping up."_

"_Batter the muffin? Stuff the beaver? Hippity dippitty?"_

"_This is getting weird," she stated firmly and started walking towards the door._

"_Didn't he take a skin boat to tuna town?" he yelled after her in exasperation._

"_I think I know why Penelope never invites her friends over," she said and left the room._


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The next day they tied her legs too. The side of her face was swollen and Libby applied some green goo onto it.

_A child, such an innocent child… how is that even possible? Dear God…_

She ate dinner obediently after Ana forced the first bite down her throat decorating her jaw with fingertip-shaped bruises. The following meals went without disturbance.

Another day went by. Bernard still tried to use the radio. Ana assisted his attempt but soon cursed herself for the stupidity of having any traces of hope.

_Surviving is now what you should focus on, Cortez. Ordering a private jet via the radio is not._

Evening interrogation was unsuccessful. Mr. Eko pinned Ana to the wall, deaf to her screams and flailing arms.

_Enough blood has been spilt, already._

Time stretched on forever, meaningless. Day passed into night, and another morning came. Time to get up. For the survivors it meant getting up, stretching their strained muscles. For her, opening her eyes.

_How can she stay in the same position for so long? What is Ana planning to do with her?_

Most of them were scared of her, scared of what she had done in cold blood. Libby's heart was pounding every time she brought her food. Only Mr. Eko was brave enough to lift her off the floor and take her out near the bunker so she could use the bathroom. She never said a thing. Not a word of protest, explanation or request. Yet he seemed to sense her discomfort every time she was in need of something-food, bathroom or simply somebody to sit by her side.

Her mother visited her from time to time. She stayed for an hour or so watching her with this artificial smile disfiguring her face.

Time continued to pass, everything blending together as if it was long day. She lost track of how much time had actually passed. Was it already a week? Two weeks living like a vegetable. Two weeks or more lying on the floor and tossed from side to side when Ana was in particular nasty mood. But it was okay. She deserved it all but waited patiently for the grand finale. They had to eventually run out of patience. And this was her new goal in life. Waiting for it.

And then she saw him. At first she thought she was sleeping, having another nightmare. But the vision in front of her stayed the same even though she blinked a couple of times.

"Eli?" she mouthed lifting her head from the ground to see him better. Wearing shabby, dirty clothes and no shoes, he stood in the entrance watching her with the smirk he gave her when they first met. He'd asked her something and she hadn't heard it at first busy with the cloth for Irma. She missed him so much.

The boy closed his eyes and then opened them again as if signalling her something. Before she could ask him anything he ran out of the bunker.

"Eli!" she yelled trying to get up but the ropes didn't let her.

"Wait for me…" she muttered to herself trying to twist her fingers under the ropes on her feet. The knots weren't too tight so as not to hurt her. All she needed to do to find the right spot and apply force. Her head was dizzy from staying on the floor for so long. She had to hurry up. She wouldn't let him go so easily.

"Yes!"

The ropes gave in. She stood up and immediately staggered forward almost falling. Pins and needles were excruciating but she had no time. Libby and Cindy? Somewhere away. Probably looking for fruit. Ana with Eko by the stream. Bernard has to be still somewhere near unrelentingly trying to use the radio. Taking him by surprise was the only option. She was ready to run past him betting on the couple of seconds of shock before he would start screaming for Ana.

The last days, weeks, or even months, luck was clearly not on her side, yet when she truly needed it the most, Lady Luck changed her mind. Bernard was sitting on a log not far away from the bunker but with his back to the entrance. He was deep in thought peering on the radio transmitter in his hand thinking of his options. Ana might be right about the Others tricking them but he still preferred to believe that the person on the other side of the signal might be telling the truth.

Sam didn't have the time to dwell on this possibility. She left that string on its own focusing on Ana's and Eko's. They were still away. So it was just Bernard. She tiptoed on the soft grass edging away with her eyes glued to Bernard's back. _Steady, steady…_, she instructed herself. _Eli, where did you go?_

Once outside of Bernard's earshot she looked around in search of any sign of Eli. She had to find him. But why was he running from her?

She saw his shirt flash between the trees and felt her heart skip a beat.

"Eli! Wait for me!" she yelled running after him as fast as her tired body allowed her to. _Don't leave me…_she begged him in her thoughts. But soon she was out of breath. Her legs were on fire while there was still no sight of Eli. She fell on her hands and knees gasping for air and then heard something.

"You waited 40 days to cry," a male voice reverberated in her head with a sudden force. She knew that voice but didn't expect to hear it again. Cold sweat covered her body. If they caught her at that moment, nothing would stop Ana from killing her.

"I can't take it anymore…" a female voice broke into sobs. Samantha knew the owner of this voice as well and hearing its desperate tone broke her heart in two.

"Oh God, Ana…" she whispered.

Both Ana and Eko were sitting by the stream as she knew they would. In her rush to catch Eli she lost orientation and almost ran straight into the last people she would like to face. Ana was crying. Without contemplating the potential consequences she did what she would usually do; followed her instincts.

First, she saw their silhouettes and thought that it was only Mr. Eko on his own. Then, she noticed Ana in his arms. Reduced to tears, gripping his arm for comfort, she looked nothing like the gritty cop taking the leadership. She looked more like a little girl forced into a situation that overwhelmed her. Almost automatically, Sam made a step forward but before she could come into full view a cloth drenched in chloroform was clasped roughly over her mouth. She scratched blindly the person holding her and dragging her back in the tree line but already knew that her efforts were futile. She felt her knees buckle, closed her eyes and expected pain from the fall but it never came.

~oo0oo~

Instead, her body leisurely descended into an inviting warmness of the sun-drenched sand. She waited for the struggle and pulling but nothing like that happened. Pleasantly cool breeze slid over her face in gentle strokes. She could hear splashes of water but nothing more. Carefully, she let her eyes open and was met with the exquisite view of the ocean. It would never grow old. The blue spread over the horizon spilling into the yellow beach in calm waves.

With sudden revelation she realised that she wasn't bound. She could have sworn that minutes ago the skin of her wrists was being cut with the sharp rope. But now her hands were in front of her. She was lying on her side with slightly bent knees. She felt rather than saw that she wasn't alone. Somebody was directly behind her and she felt the scrutinizing stare on the back of her neck. After searching her body for symptoms of fear she was surprised to find absolutely none. Was it because she no longer cared? No, it couldn't have been true for she remembered how Ana's tears shook her. She was still capable of experiencing strong emotions even though for the last days she convinced herself that she'd lost that ability. Curiosity nagged her and finally she couldn't help herself anymore. She rolled her body to face the person behind her rather than the ocean not wanting to sit up just yet. Lying on the sand was pure pleasure when compared to the hard concrete floor she was preordained to for the last weeks. Wind tousled her hair over her eyes so she moved it back behind her ear.

The eyes of the person facing her had the warmest shade of chestnut she had ever seen in her life. The mellow feeling those eyes evoked in her clashed brutally with the harsh physique of their owner. He was definitely Middle Eastern, with broad arms and finely defined muscles stretched underneath his dark skin revealed by grey wife beater. He was sitting with his legs bent before him in a comfortable position propelling his forearms on his knees. He seemed thoroughly relaxed but there was something intimidating about him. Something that was supposed to make her at least uneasy but it didn't. Instead, she felt as if she had met him before. In another life perhaps.

"Hello," she said politely. "Do I know you?" Was it a silly question to ask considering the circumstances? If he thought she was being stupid he didn't show it.

"I believe not," his accent was strong and strangely matched his broad jaw. It was sharp and crude, somewhat reminding her of Mr. Eko.

"Oh," she blinked a couple of times captivated by his eyes. Questions tugged at the back of her head but she ignored them. They never led to anything good. So rather than spoil the tranquillity she focused on the mysterious man in front of her. His black hair framed his face in soft curls barely reaching his shoulders. Most men she knew that wore long hair were far less masculine than him. He was the essence of manliness. A week's stubble only strengthened that image. He seemed strong on the outside yet amiable and even tender on the inside. Eko had a different type of softness within him. He was more of a fatherly figure. A friendly giant. The kind that would tell you a story and put you to bed. But this dark-skinned man had this dangerous edge that made him look like a fighter one wouldn't like to mess with.

Time was passing her by with gusts of wind caressing her body in steady rhythm of waves and she gradually started to feel sleepy.

"I think I need a nap," she yawned and closed her eyes.

"You need to wake up," the man insisted with his thick accent.

"Just a couple of minutes," she slurred slipping away already.

"WAKE UP!"

She snapped her eyes open and almost immediately struggled to sit down after seeing the scene before her. The soft sand of the beach was replaced with a down-filled quilt. Instead of the ocean her view comprised of a neat little room with a small window overlooking a garden. But what shocked her most was Eli sitting on the chair by the bed she was on. So the beach was just a dream after all. Sadness gripped her throat.

"Glad you woke up finally. We've got work to do," Eli chirped smiling. She was definitely not in the mood to smile.

"Where am I? How long have I been asleep?"

"Well, you needed some serious rest. But don't worry, I've been here the whole time," he explained smiling at her reassuringly.

"How long?"

"Two or three days."

"What?!" she shrieked. It seemed impossible. She lost consciousness but it felt like mere hours. _He drugged me_, she thought. The boy in front of her. It was difficult to notice at first but then it hit her and she suddenly felt as if she'd swallowed a whole glass of ice cubes. Silence, utter silence. No chattering about her lovely legs, or how Ana Lucia is annoying, or how he would love a nice hot shower. Nothing. Emptiness. This has never happened to her before.

"Who..who are you?" she asked bewildered but Eli didn't seem fazed by her question. On the contrary, he seemed to be expecting it.

"Eli," he answered simply.

She wasn't convinced. "You don't feel like Eli," she said backing slowly until she felt her back against the wall.

"Don't be scared. You're safe here. We're all safe here," he explained patiently.

"Kids?" she tried hopefully.

"Of course," his smile widened but instead of feeling relief her stomach seemed to drop to her feet. There was absolutely no way she could confirm his words. No way she could trust him.

"What did they do to you?" Her lip quivered. The room Samantha was in had the same design as the houses she saw in the village before being sent with Goodwin to the jungle. Not knowing exactly where she was or what was to happen to her put her on edge.

"They didn't do anything to me, Sam," he laughed at her. "They're good people. You know that. You're one of us."

"No!" she snapped sharply. Her eyes began to water at his words.

"You've done amazing job this far and we're so proud of you," Eli continued ignoring her growing terror. "Now all you have to do is rest."

"Please, let me go back home," she pleaded, tears spilling into her cheeks. Home. Wherever it was it surely was a desirable place somewhere far away from the Island.

He looked her up and down unhappy with what he saw. "You look like a bag of bones. I've got a nice dinner prepared for you in the oven."

Sam wouldn't let him change the topic. She needed to know. "What's going to happen to the survivors?"

"Okay, you won," he sighed. "Let's make a deal. You do something for me and I'll answer your questions. Wha'dya think?"

He looked like Eli. All the details were there. Clothes seemed foreign but overall he looked very much like himself. So why did she feel that he was a total stranger?

"C'mon," he waved his hand in the direction of the corridor and left without waiting for her. She stayed on the bed straining her ears for him. There was a clatter of plates accompanied by a clink of glasses. She focused on the area surrounding the small house but again there was nothing but this unnerving eerie silence. How she missed the buzz constantly following her around when she was with the survivors. This place made the little hairs on her arms stand up alert.

"It's almost ready!" Eli called from the kitchen. She couldn't think of any other option than to meet him there. Reluctantly, she followed him and stood by the door frame watching him busy himself with the dishes. Saliva gathered in her mouth when the fine smell of roasted meat reached her nose. She could no longer deny the famished state she was in. Her stomach gave an embarrassingly loud sound, which made Eli turn around and beam at her.

"Glad you like it," he said, putting a jug full of orange juice on the small kitchen table. "Have a try".

Once Eli sat down himself and started to gobble down his food, she took the opposite seat. The large portion of food on her plate was mouth-watering. Mashed potatoes with some crackling on top, a juicy looking steak of considerable size and some boiled vegetables. There was no way she could deny herself this meal. Not after all these weeks of malnutrition.

Pushing aside the remorse about the contrast between the meals of survivors she left behind and the feast in front of her, she took the first tentative bite of the steak.

"Mhm," she sighed contentedly, cleaning up the plate in no time. Eli handed her the second helping, pleased with her appetite.

"You already look much better," he commented as she swallowed another glass of juice. "We'll get some fat on you in no time."

When her stomach was finally full, she felt an overwhelming wave of drowsiness. It seemed almost impossible to stay awake much longer, but she knew there were things she needed to have clarified.

"Eli, I need to talk with somebody in charge. I have to be sure that the survivors will be left in peace,"

"They can find peace here. I don't see why you're so stubborn," Eli dismissed her solemn tone of voice.

"I don't know what's happening here. It's far too big for me to grasp. But one thing I'm sure of is that we're not safe here. Don't you see it? It's just another prison." she persisted.

"You're creeping me out big time. You sound just like Ana during one of her manic episodes," he joked.

Samantha rose to her feet. "You all think I'm an idiot?!" she yelled. "There are two armed men guarding the door."

The smile on his face, little by little, changed from a mocking smirk into a large triumphant grin.

"When they first told me that you're special, I didn't believe them. But now I see it with my own eyes. The Island made a wise choice picking you."

"What are you talking about?" she asked bewildered but he only kept on smiling.

"You promised, to answer my questions," she reminded him.

"I know all I need to know to chill out and enjoy my stay here. I highly recommend the same to you," he said and started to gather the dishes from the table and put them in the sink.

"How can you forget about the people left behind? Libby? Ana? Cindy? Eko? What about them? I don't know who you are. Eli I used to know cared about people," she reproached him disgusted.

"I care about good people, Sam. Those people here are good," he pronounced firmly from above the sink.

"Good?" she echoed in dull, cold voice. Perhaps a year ago she thought exactly the same about Widmore's men. Good people trying to help her in exchange of small favours. They paid for expensive psychiatrists so that her mother could have the best care available. It was all a cover; a bunch of lies that she refused to see to shush her conscience. But she finally did see it. With Richard it was different. She thought she was wiser and didn't wait for him to bribe her with empty promises. Running was her only answer and the more she ran the more trapped she felt. Soon enough, they did trap her. Widmore? Richard? Eventually even Ana Lucia. What was the difference? She no longer believed in a "good people" category and definitely didn't see herself as belonging to it.

"But don't worry," Eli said, wringing his hands in the kitchen cloth. "Soon there will be only good people left on the Island."

Temperature in the room dropped suddenly, and this part of her brain that desperately needed a distraction thought about Bernard's shirt laying somewhere near the bed. The shirt was warm and smelled like a floral rinse liquid. It smelled like home she no longer had.

"What did you just say?" There was still a possibility that she misunderstood him. He probably meant something completely different, right?

He turned around looking at her squarely in the eye. "I think you know what I mean perfectly well."

"No. They wouldn't…" She took a couple of steps back behind her chair holding its backrest for support.

"You've seen what Ana is capable of doing. She took a man's life. There's only one punishment for that and there's nothing we can do about it. Face it," he said in a flat tone of a person reciting telephone directory.

"NO!" she yelled. "She did what she had to do! She had no choice.."

"You're making up excuses for her. She's a murderer," he cut her off taking a threatening step forward, making her grip the backrest like a potential weapon.

"She's just confused, trapped and sad and…blue-violet," she stumbled on words feeling that she wasn't making any sense.

"Blue-violet?" he echoed tilting his head to the side with a mocking smirk. "Now that's something new."

There was no way she could make Eli see what she means, make him understand. Nobody could understand. Nobody ever tried to.

"Take me to somebody in charge," she stormed at Eli suddenly aware of the passing time. Her friends were in danger.

"Woah, girl. Hold your pretty horses," he grabbed her wrists holding her at shoulder distance while she struggled to grab his shirt. The strength in her attempts was shocking. He was a bit shorter than her but still definitely stronger. She was just a girl after all. Where was her strength coming from?

"Then tell me how to come back!" She pushed against him until the small of his back made contact with the edge of the sink

"Fuck! Calm down!" he cursed at the sharp pain. "It's not funny anymore."

"Funny?" she sprang to the side seeing red and grabbed a Chef's knife from the stand. She pointed it at the stunned boy to prove that she was being dead serious.

"In which direction is the survivor's camp?" she said calmly without breaking the eye contact.

Eli held his palms up in surrender fixing his face in a neutral expression to not make her angry.

"Listen to me," she licked her suddenly very dry lips. "I don't want to hurt anybody but unless you're going to cooperate I might change my mind."

"It's too far away. You would have to march east to the beach. Besides, there are people that would stop you," he threatened but glimpsed the blade hesitant at his next move.

_Shit. I forgot about the guards_, she thought.

"You're right. But still I want to talk with their leader. That's why you'll do exactly what I say" she ordered, her mind already set. There was no turning back.

~oo0oo~

She listened carefully with her body flattened against the front door. Outside, Eli was talking to the guards and she could barely make out anything. The only sound that was perfectly clear was her heart pumping blood straight to her temples. There was absolutely no plan or rational thinking behind her actions. She was acting on impulse as usual, hoping that Eli wouldn't betray her. Threatening to stab herself with a knife suddenly seemed like an extremely flimsy argument against two armed men.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go get him," she heard Eli say and felt relieved and scared at the same time. The boy believed that she wanted to talk with somebody to plead Ana's life. In reality, she knew that would be pointless. In the pit of her stomach she knew that something really bad was going to happen and she had to find Ana as soon as possible. No time wasted.

She heard the guards tentatively leave their appointed posts. One of them, who she didn't know by name, escorted her from the sub when she arrived on the Island and from time to time appeared with food. She never saw his face being blindfolded until Goodwin took her from the cell and made her run for the beach.

Guards finally out of earshot. It was her cue. She pushed herself off the door and ran through the corridor back to the room she'd woken up in. Without second thoughts, she opened the window in one swift motion and jumped off the windowsill straight into a small garden. Her ankle almost gave in on the impact but she managed to regain balance. Her head throbbed with growing adrenaline rush and she forced herself to remember the direction she was led by Goodwin. Once she did, she ran the opposite way hoping to catch with Ana and the rest of the survivors in the bunker. _If they are still there_, she thought but it didn't stop in her tracks.

The dinner she had been given would have been enough for an exhaustive sprint but this wasn't what she was aiming at. She needed a steady pace to reach her destination without passing out. There were things lurking in the jungle, waiting for her to give up. Guards following her would be the least of her concerns.

Meanwhile, Eli waited outside of the house admiring the perfectly blue sky. It's been a busy day but a very important one as well. He let the sun warm his cheeks. Approaching footsteps diverted his attention.

"She's gone," Eli stated matter-of-factly. The blue-eyed man stopped next to him watching him intently, expecting the boy to continue talking. Eli felt that he needed to ask this question and knew that the man wouldn't be surprised to hear it.

"Wouldn't it be better to keep her here?" he asked looking at the man.

"She's back on the right track now. Just needed the right incentive," the blue-eyed replied. The unwavering stare still aimed at the boy. This look was unnerving but Eli brushed it off. He was safe. This place was safe. No need to question it.

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

"Hello," she said politely. "Do I know you?" Was it a silly question to ask considering the circumstances? If he thought she was being stupid he didn't show it.

"I believe not," his accent was strong and strangely matched his broad jaw. It was sharp and crude, somewhat reminding her of Mr. Eko.

"Oh," she blinked a couple of times captivated by his eyes.

"Is it my fantasy?" she asked matter-of-factly. "It would explain a lot."

He shrugged. "Maybe you could tell me."

"I'm not sure. Have you seen Daniel Craig eating Skittles off Martin Freeman's naked ass with Bradley Cooper watching from under a unicorn where he was having his chest hair brushed by miniature giraffes?"

"I don't think so," the Eastern man said blinking at the rush of words.

"Darn it. I really wanted to see Martin Freeman's ass."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Surprise, surprise. I'm determined to finish this story. I really am.**

**Plus, I've added bonus scenes to chapter 11, 12 and 13 so you might want to look back.**

CHAPTER 14

The first familiar place Samantha reached was the pit Nathan had been kept in what seemed ages ago. Her breath hitched as a resounding crack of a neck being snapped echoed in her memory causing goose bumps to prickle her skin. The further she was the worse she felt about the whole idea of coming back. What would she say to the survivors? New lies to cover the old ones? Would she even have the chance to say anything before Ana would try to kill her?

With doubts following her like vultures after their prey, she quickened her pace and soon enough saw the opening to the concrete bunker survivors used as shelter. Something wasn't quite right and when she finally found out what, blood drifted from her face.

Silence. The same kind of silence she experienced with Eli. Either the bunker was empty or she could no longer hear her friends. Not even Ana who used to be the loudest.

"It's impossible", she muttered opening the door as if in trance. She expected to see the survivors looking at her with the same strangely foreign eyes Eli had but there was nobody there. Neither in the corridor nor in the main room. It looked like the occupants had left in an organized rush taking with them what was necessary but leaving in a mess what didn't seem worth carrying. She took a deep breath of relief. The fact that the survivors had left at that moment seemed like a better option then that they changed into strangers. _A better option for you. But what about them? _her mother's voice said in her head. The emptiness of the bunker made her consider the worst case scenario that at first didn't even enter her head. _What if I was too late_, she thought and immediately run outside looking for any clues that would help her figure out her next move. Everything indicated that nobody had followed her, but with Eli's strange behaviour she couldn't be one hundred percent sure.

"Focus, please. Think of a good plan. You have to save them", she told herself while looking around the entrance to the bunker. "They probably abandoned this place because of me. But where would they go?"

There were many options, many scenarios and the only thing she could do is focus on the most logical ones.

"Okay. They wouldn't come back to the previous camp because I know where it is. To run from me they had to pick a new place. Somewhere safe. But they aren't familiar with the island. Up the hills? No, not a good shelter. Bunker was perfect," she uttered to nobody in particular, choosing to talk to herself out loud to clear her thoughts. There was absolutely no specific location she could think Ana would pick. An idea formed in her head.

"Perhaps, not a location but what about a direction?"

She knew where the beach was and where the small village Richard and Eli were in was. Ana didn't know about the village but already figured out the general direction, which was one of the reasons Goodwin had felt the pressure to silence her. The only rational direction Ana could have taken was to go south either by entering further into the jungle or down the shore line. The first option appeared strategically better with various trees and depressions used for cover. Sea shore was an open space, too visible.

"Jungle it is," she decided and without wasting more time headed in to the south of the bunker.

~oo0oo~

_You're losing it,_ Ana thought to herself clenching her jaw. _Too many mistakes._ She was torn between munching over the things she could have done better or focusing on the road ahead. With careful steps, never swiftly enough, she led the small group in the direction of the shore. Her back was to the new guys who claimed to have survived the same plane crash and she hated it. It was against everything she was taught and everything she learnt in the last couple of days but she couldn't trust them with guidance as well.

"I'm fine." the blonde smartass growled angrily, probably at the Chinese guy mumbling something to him. She wasn't really interested in the back story. Fuck, she wasn't interested in anything that didn't include shooting in the face anybody that could pose a threat, and the blonde guy was definitely a threat.

"Shhhh - shut up," she barked having enough of the noise. The only way they could survive this is tiptoeing and praying that the savages from the jungle wouldn't mind.

"What? They can't talk at all?" the Afro-American sounded offended and Ana found herself feeling like a pre-school teacher scolding obnoxious kids during a field trip.

"If he talks he's going to get us all killed," she explained through clenched teeth. It was ridiculous that she had to remind them of such plain obvious things.

"By what? Them? I thought they lived a day back that way?" the man wouldn't let go, pestering Ana for answers she didn't have the time or wish to give.

"How about you shut your mouth and get your buddy over here moving?" she replied furious with the whole situation. The guy only grew even more persistent.

"What happened to you people? You want us to take you back with us? Fine. But you want me to keep quiet then you need to tell me why I have to."

_Sweet Jesus, somebody better hold me down_, she thought and looked at Eko and Cindy. Both of them averted her silent plead for help. It seemed she didn't have a choice but to share a bit of the story so the three of the new arrivals would finally cooperate.

"They came the first night that we got here. They took three of us. Nothing happened for two weeks, and then they came back. They took nine more. It this is not enough to convince you that this is serious listen to this – they infiltrated us. Disguised as survivors. One of them was a goddamn teenage girl with baby blue eyes," Ana made a short pause for effect, staring the Afro-American guy down. He stared back but it was evident that her words affected him.

"They're smart, and they're animals," she continued. "And they could be anywhere at any time. Now we're moving through the jungle - their jungle - just so you can save your little hick friend over here, "she nodded in the blonde's direction.

"And if you think that one gun and one bullet is going to stop them - think again. So shut your mouth and keep moving."

She turned around to continue their march but the man spoke again.

"They took my son."

She almost laughed at that. The whole situation was ridiculous after all. He lost his son and had the cheek to grouch about it non stop while she's lost 12 people, including two kids. Did she even mention that she had to kill a man? With her bare arms. Was she supposed to pat this guy on the shoulder because he lost one person dear to him? _Sorry_ _to break it to you but we're not in Kansas anymore, _she thought sneeringly.

"They took a lot of things."

~oo0oo~

Samantha massaged her aching feet, hissing in pain at the sensation. Taking off her worn-out shoes didn't bring the desired effect of relief. Quite the opposite. Her feet were now swollen and she cringed at the thought of forcing them back into shoes.

"Dammit," she cursed under her breath when a strong cramp in her right leg brought tears to her eyes. By the time the pain subsided, she was on the verge of bursting into full flown sobs. She had no idea where she was going with only faint memory of the way towards the sea where Libby found a place to catch fish. Without supplies, proper clothing and most importantly without her friends next to her it was hard to be her old optimistic self.

The image of Ana crying in Eko's arms flashed before Sam's eyes.

"Where are you now, Ana? Please, wait for me," she whispered in small voice.

As if on cue, she heard a distant voice. It was extremely faint, whitish, percolated through the thickness of the jungle but it was there. She couldn't quite decipher the words but was almost sure she knew who was talking.

"Cindy? Cindy!" she screamed at the top oh her lungs and sprang to her feet cursorily putting her shoes on. "Cindy! I'm here!"

_Focus. Locate her, _she thought and closedher eyes. Where was the voice coming from? Was it from the beach? How far away? She heard the woman again, this time her voice was even weaker but she managed to grab the string.  
"Gotcha!" she cried triumphantly. Cindy was striding perpendicular to the way Samantha chose. So the survivors decided to walk along the shore line but then decided to cross the jungle after all. It was her chance to meet them there. But why did they change direction? And why did she only hear Cindy's voice. She shook her head disregarding the doubts, and ran after Cindy's thinning string. She made all the bets on the sprint ignoring the dark clouds spreading over the sky.

~oo0oo~

The nagging feeling that something was missing struck Ana with double force. Although she could hardly catch her breath after climbing the hill, she forced herself to focus. The blonde, Sawyer, was still unconscious carried on the stretcher. He slowed them down but she could do nothing about it. Eko helped Libby and Bernard make to the top of the hill. He surely had lot of stamina. But where was…

"Cindy. Cindy? Where's Cindy?" Ana yelled looking round in panic. First drops of rain drummed against her hot skin.

"She was just here." Bernard said. His pupils dilated, hairs erect.

"I'm going after her," Ana said firmly but Eko grabbed her arm. "No, we stay together - we split up, we give them what they want."

Adrenaline was already pumping furiously in her veins and Eko chose the wrong moment to play the stoic.

"This is all your fault," she accused him. Panic gradually made place for anger. "We never should have gone through the jungle. You risked our lives to save him and he's already dead. This one's on you."

Her words were suppose to be hurtful. She desperately wanted to shake Eko, to make him finally snap, to feel the way she felt. Too many lives slipped through her fingers. And now Cindy was gone even though she put her faith in Ana. She promised to keep them safe. She promised them._ I'm nothing but a selfish, worthless piece of shit,_ she thought and wrenched out of Eko's grasp moving to find Cindy.

"Cindy! Cindy!" she screamed with Libby and Bernard. Incomprehensive voices enveloped them like an invisible net. Whispers that carried a threat. It seemed as if they were suddenly surrounded by small crowd lurking in the damp darkness.

"What the hell is that?" One of the men carrying the stretcher asked expecting Ana to make him feel less terrified. She drew her gun frantically looking round for the enemy and the rest of the survivors knew that she lost any traces of control over the situation.

"Run!" Ana screamed and started in a random direction. A glimpse of something pink appeared to her left. Instincts took control over her rational thinking. The barrel of the gun was pointed in the direction and Ana pulled the trigger just as being tackled to the ground. Her head collided with the ground almost knocking her unconscious.

~oo0oo~

The pain in Samantha's lungs exploded like thousand fireworks. Perhaps it was because of the cold air tearing into her throat as she run; or maybe because of her chest colliding with Ana's back. Something rung in her ears in strong, painful waves; drowning out all the other noises. Her fingers sunk in something thick and sticky. The association with blood fleetingly passed her thoughts only to be replaced with a rational explanation. _It's mud. You're on the ground with Ana and it's raining, _she thought and opened her eyes despite the pouring rain. Moving her head up she saw a young blonde woman standing perfectly still among the trees.

"Shannon!" A voice cut through the ringing. Someone called from behind the blonde woman and she turned around but Samantha couldn't see the owner of this voice.

"Walt!" the woman cried in response and started to run into the jungle, away from everybody else.

"WALT!" a new male voice screamed and Sam felt a rush of wind as this person passed her and ran after the woman. But there were running in the wrong way. It was a trap.

"Don't go there!" Sam scrambled to her knees calling after them and tried to stand up but a hand grabbed her leg in vicious grip making her shriek in sudden pain.

Ana held to Samantha's leg like her life depended on it. "Oh no you won't," she hissed pulling the girl down right into a growing puddle and straddling her.

The mechanic-like screech tore the humid air of the jungle making all the survivors freeze in terror. The noise was so loud that is seemed like two trucks crashed right next to the survivors. Metal grinding into metal with unimaginable force splitting it into two massive chunks. Bernard and Libby fell to their knees anticipating a blow, while the rest looked around.

Samantha clasped her ears, her scream drowning in the metallic noise. Her vocal cords strained to the point of physical pain. Veins in her forehead bulging with the force of her shrill. All of this to make the sound in her head stop. It felt like thousand metal nails being hammered straight into her brain. She experienced pain before but the explosion in her head couldn't be compared to any of it. A weight of somebody else held her down while she wriggled and twisted in the mud like an eel. She sensed the cold darkness approaching and she anticipated it with relief. It all would be over. Finally, her body tensed for the last spasm and she went completely limp under the pinning force.

~~~~~~~~~~BONUS SCENE~~~~~~~~~~

With careful steps, never swiftly enough, she led the small group in the direction of the shore. Her back was to the new guys who claimed to have survived the same plane crash and she hated it. It was against everything she was taught and everything she learnt in the last couple of days but she couldn't trust them with guidance as well.

Libby quickened her pace to keep up with Ana.

„I think we can all agree that something needs to be done about it," Libby whispered anxiously.

"WALT!" the black guy screamed for the hundredth time.

"He'll get us all killed!" she added after no response from Ana.

"WAAALT!"

"Maybe we should ask him to stop," she continued casting looks at the man shouting.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!"

"Oh shut the fuck up!" Ana yelled in response and bitch slapped the guy with enough force to leave a handprint along with fingerprints clearly visible.

"You were saying?" she turned to Libby, finally acknowledging her.

"Nope."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Special thanks to ****Fred80 and MindFullofStories for making me feel guilty :] I planned on delivering a longer bit but you deserve to have the chapters as soon as possible. Please, leave just a tiny bit of a review and make my day brighter. Have fun!**

**Bonus scene will appear later on. **

~oo0oo~

_Somebody pushed her roughly forwards and she stumbled on her feet; fighting for balance with a bag over her head. Another couple of people rushed pass her. Some metal clicking and the sounds of machines whirring already were making her head spin with effort. Every attempt at differentiating the source of the noise was pointless. They all formed a foreign tapestry of clicks and bleeps mixed with the throbbing of some strange machine not far away from her. Her heart was racing, desperate to hold to any string available to anchor her among the noise. Instead another push forced her knees to buckle and she sat down with a yelp on the wooden chair materializing behind her. A hand on her shoulder held her in place. A gesture that under normal circumstances would make her whip her head to see the owner of the grip. _

_Too many disfigured hands shoved and held her in the darkness the last couple of days. She no longer tried to count them, give them faces in her mind. Like a marionette she gave in and waited. Somebody had to finally tell her what was she needed for and bribe her into obedience. It's how Widmore operated, right? Was this supposed to be different? No offers given? Not even scarce pieces of information? Only the shoving a few times a day, meals handed to her irregularly and the noise. Sometimes just the speakers with the usual hum over it or as it was now, the various corridors with strange vapour sweeping over her face from time to time, and rooms full of machine;their heating not comforting in the least. The fleeting memory of a scald made her cautious around heat. Her mom used to say to her that you could control the blade but you could never fully control the fire. _

"…_hotter than outside…" a part of a nearly mute complain knifed through the noise. All muscles tense as her head moved in the direction of the words she clearly heard. She knew this sound far too well. It wasn't a whisper. Finally, she found some sort of a familiar string. It was so feeble, so vulnerable. She craned her neck praying that somehow this would help to hear it better, to hear more and prove she hadn't just hallucinated it. But she was sure she heard it right and that it was different. A male voice right in her head written over the noise around her. Some sort of new rustle. Doors closed or opened. She couldn't tell. _

_How was this voice familiar? She reached into her mind to catalogue it but she couldn't. It was too weak, too distorted to tell. The grip on her shoulder gone and for a second she missed it not knowing what would happen next. _

_She almost screamed in surprise when the bag was removed from her head._

"_Nice to see you again," said the man standing very close in front of her. Richard? she thought looking the man over. The fact that he wasn't wearing a suit but a ragged shirt and grey trousers, looking more like a hiking type than the business like man she once met didn't surprise her that much as the very fact he had been there in front of her and she didn't notice him. She looked to her right noticing the now empty door. But she was sure she heard somebody there. It couldn't have been Richard. The voice was different. So who was it? She looked around finally taking in the room she was put in. The source of the greatest noise was a big metal boiler connected to some strange pipes behind her. It was one of those old boilers but much bigger she had ever seen. The electrical panels beeping were on either side of the walls. The noise was also coming from the ceiling enveloping her in the whirring._

"_Who was that?" Richard asked drawing her attention back to him._

"_What?" The word hurt her throat and she swallowed a couple of times to get rid of the dryness._

"_You heard somebody, didn't you? Who was it?" he patiently explained with a warm smile that was aimed at making her a bit more comfortable than the situation could provide. _

"_I don't know," she answered truthfully. _

"_Try to focus," he licked his lips and added after a moment "It's very important" _

_She furrowed her eyebrows forcing her mind to work over the noise of the machines surrounding her._

"_It was…a man," she started slowly. "He sounded a little familiar. As if I met him before…but…"_

"_Yes?" he prompted her._

"_...it's just strange that I know his voice but not his face. I've never…" _

_She finally connected the dots and looked Richard straight in the eye._

"_One of the guards from the sub. The one that brings me food. It must be the same person. I haven't heard him speak, I haven't seen him but it must be him," she said more to herself than to the man in front of her. She knew without looking at him that she was right the moment she uttered the words. _

"_You make experiments on me…" she said in surprise. It made sense. The bag over her head, the pushing, the noise. _

"_We're helping you."_

"_This is your help?!" she croaked unable to scream after so much time without the need to use her voice at all._

"_I hope you'll appreciate it one day," he said with sincere sadness in his voice._

~oo0oo~

"What are you planning to do?" asked John in hushed voice.

Jack worked his palm over his stubble letting out a deep breath. He feared his question but knew it was coming. It was he who decided to trust the survivors from the other part of the Island. He had to bump heads with the ex-cop Latina which didn't end the way he wanted it to end. The woman clearly recognised only her own authority. But John's question wasn't about that.

"She won't be unconscious forever," Kate added crossing her arms impatiently.

"I know," Jack said. "Judging by her head injuries she might have a concussion but she should be up in an hour or so. Then we can ask her some questions…"

"What if she's not too willing to answer them, Jack?"

~oo0oo~

In the meantime, the only person that was one hundred percent sure she could make Samantha talk, was trying to prepare some kind of shelter for herself. She wasn't too picky. Anything that would protect her from rain and be away from other campers would be just fine. She was just about to organize her stuff in the tiny space under the plastic roof when she heard a meaningful cough just behind her. _Not far away enough_, she mused and turned around impatiently glaring at the obese man. He looked nice enough but she learnt that lesson the hard way.

"Hi," he said clapping his hands awkwardly. She raised her eyebrow waiting for a question of some sorts or at least an introduction.

"Welcome to the other side of the island. It's pretty cosy in here. And we have a golf club if you want to join in."

"A what?" The man in front of her started to look a bit mentally instable.

"Oh, and I'm Hurly. And you're Ana. I know. Jack told me."

"Is there anything you want from me?" she interrupted.

"No, I mean, yes. We all want to know what happen to Shannon. Sayid didn't come back and they say he's ….Well, with her now, you know. "

"And?"

"They say that she was killed by a girl and that you know something about it."

"You should ask the good doctor about it. He seemed to be in charge here," she snorted still angry that they took Samantha without telling here where they are taking her.

"Yeah. But he's in the bunker and I they never tell me the important things you know."

"What bunker?" she said and fixed Hurley with a look of an eagle glimpsing a mouse among the barley. The chill that ran down Hurley's back was in contrast to the stifling heat.

"Now I know why."

Later he would claim that she forced him to do it. That he absolutely wouldn't volunteer to actually lead her to the bunker explaining the silly story of the button of doom and other strange stuff. She was mean to him and he had no choice whatsoever to show her the way to the kitchen where John was waiting for Jack to finish the examination of the girl. He would deny everything.

~oo0oo~

Her pulse was stable; bones intact; no symptoms of internal bleeding or organ failure. She had many bruises and abrasions mostly on her arms and one fresh bruise on her ankle. She was extremely pale but it was rather her natural complexion than the blood loss. She was supposed to be awake but Jack wasn't sure what the real reason behind her unconsciousness was. He needed her responsive and ready to talk, willing to talk.

"WHERE IS SHE?" the voice bellowed between the metal walls of the bunker.

"Please, don't", John's stoic voice was slightly muffled by the thick door.

The situation could quickly escalate and it was the last thing Jack needed.

Grasping the handle firmly he opened the door to the sight of Ana Lucia standing right in John's face almost snarling at him. She took a quick glance at the doctor and the way his body shielded the entrance to the room. He noticed the understanding reaching her eyes.

"She's not responsive right now and we have to discuss…."

"I don't have to discuss anything with you. She's MINE. There are my people who died because of her. There may be some still alive and she knows where they are so spare me the bullshit, doc."

John lifted his hands interjecting "And we're very sorry for your loss. Remember that we lost many of our people as well. Let's all sit down and exchange facts before we form a plan. From what you told us before she hadn't disclosed any information this far."

Perhaps it was his collected voice, or just the fact that his name wasn't Jack, but finally Ana tightened her jaw and nodded. He was right after all, and she wasn't stupid.

"Sorry, guys. She made me," Hurley apologized stepping into the room. After Jack's side glance he knew he was a bit out of good excuses.

"Stay here, Hurley. Don't open the door. If you hear anything, just let us know," the doctor ordered and left with John and fuming Ana close on their trail. He sounded serious and after Hurley had been left alone he eyed the door to the room with the unconscious girl suddenly feeling out of place. The silence turned a bit uncomfortable and he looked in the direction of the living room, if you could call it like that. A bit of music wouldn't hurt anybody, right? Anything that would make the bunker less creepy.

Most of the album covers were known to him. He skipped through those quickly before a brown-haired woman wearing a red and white sweater caught his eye.

"Mina," he read the title and shrugged deciding to give it a try. After a few seconds of silence, a female vocal filled the room. It was definitely not English that she sung but he couldn't quite make his mind about the language.

"It's Italian," someone spoke softly directly behind him.

"Jeez… Sweet God!" he screamed startled and turned around to see a young blond girl massaging her temple with one hand and looking around in confusion. Hurley stuttered something under his breath looking her over. Not that she looked like a model. She was too much limbs and eyes. But she was a girl and that was enough to make him squirm like an ant under the magnifying glass. She finally set her eyes on him. _Definitely like an ant under the magnifying glass, _he thought.

"Could you switch it off, please?"

It took him longer then he would have preferred but his ears finally reconnected to his brain.

"The song… right." He took the record from the record player and put it back to its case.

"Would you like to listen to something else? There's some Patsy Cline and some weird band called Geronimo Jackson," he rambled feeling more and more like an idiot.

"Silence is fine, thank you," she assured him. She blinked a couple of times, her eyes adjusting to the artificial lighting of the room. When she finally looked directly at Hurley, he felt his fists sweating and suddenly found the record player next to him a fascinating sight. After an awkward silence he stole a few glances her way noting how her head tilted to one side while regarding him. She looked like a giant parrot.

Her soft girly giggle caught him by surprise. He gawked at her totally at loss of what to say or how to react. The mood swings was one of those girl stuff he never could wrap his head around.

"Samantha," she extended her hand, eyes smiling and hair falling over her shoulder.

"Hurley," he shook her hand feeling uneasy but at least less like an idiot which was a progress. He bet his palms were disgustingly sweaty. She didn't seem to notice but she might have been just acting polite. Would that be a terrible idea to ask her about it? It would be much easier with Jack around to take over this absurdity. Then the realisation hit him.

"Jack!" he yelled and immediately clasped his hands over his mouth. Hurley was supposed to inform Jack if he hears anything, not to mention when the girl wakes up, walks into the living room and asks to turn off the music. But they planned to interrogate her and Hurley didn't like the sound of it. An image of Ana shouting at the blond girl in a dark room with a lamp directed at her face popped into his head.

The girl hissed at Hurley's loud voice and hung her head holding it with her hands.

"I'm sorry," Hurley whispered frantically again not really knowing what to do. He approached the sitting girl and looked at the entrance to the door but nobody was there. Not yet.

"It's okay. My head hurts and I… I don't really remember much," she admitted keeping her hands firmly holding her temples. Somehow, the pressure was helping. She let fingertips form soothing circles over the skin.

"Wait here," Hurley looked at the corridor deciding to occupy himself with something useful like bringing water.

Top shelves were the usual spot to start looking but he finds some glasses standing conveniently on the counter. He inspected one of them closely for any remains of previous liquid but the glass must have been washed earlier. Finding a water bottle proved to be more of a challenge. His eyes scanned the kitchen only briefly landing on the tap. He wouldn't risk drinking anything that resided in those old pipes.

"It's safe,"

"Aaaaah!"

Hugo had to fight with gravity for a few embarrassingly long moments to prevent the glass from shattering on the floor.

"You know that big guys can like have heart attacks from people jumping on them like that," he said to the blonde that managed to startle him twice the past five minutes.

"And what is safe?" he added after putting the glass back on the counter.

"The tap water is safe. I wouldn't call it tasty but the pumps have been checked recently so it should be safe to drink," she answered.

"How do you know that?" he asked watching her carefully.

"What do you mean?"

She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she had just disclosed some information only an original inhabitant of the Island would know. She furrowed her brows.

"Original?"

It was one of those times that Hurley felt like in the Twilight Zone episode with the whole package of goose bumps, cold sweat and blood rushing straight to his head.

"Did you just seriously read my mind?"

If that was even possible, her eyes became bigger. Hurley wasn't too good at reading people, especially female ones, but even he could tell that the slip scared the girl in front of her. She took a tentative step back until she hit the doorframe.

"Where am I?" she asked slowly.

"Is this another experiment? Please, just stop already," she whimpered. Her body slid down the doorframe until she was sitting on the floor with her knees close to her body.

"Dude, it's no experiment. Calm down," he explained with his arms forward like an animal trainer in front of a lion. The girl looked ready to start crying and he would have much preferred a lion. She started inhaling rapidly with loud gulps and Hurley thought of his classmate, Owen when he had one of his asthma attacks. Hurley tried to remember what to do while he kneeled next to her with a heavy huff.

"I don't….know….how…to, "she wheezed, hair sticking to her red cheeks.

"That makes the two of us," Hurley interrupted bitterly. "Just breathe or something. You know… like delivering a baby."

"In," he breathed in exaggerating and indicated for her to do the same. "And out"

Slowly, they found a rhythm of breathing through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

She had her eyes shut and their combined breathing deafened the footsteps so she missed it when Jack, John and Ana entered the room. Jack's doctor instinct kicked in the moment he assessed the situation before him. He was by the girl's side in a second, holding her wrist to check the pulse and widening her right eye to see her pupil. She was too stunned and probably a bit high on the oxygen to react in other way then simply submitting.

"Does your head hurt?" Jack asked with concern.

She shook her head but he checked her head for bleeding anyway. She shouldn't be able to walk on her own yet. They all agreed to give her some time with a pack of ice on her head, a warm bed, and some prodding of a good cop, as Ana agreed to call Jack after a long and heated discussion of the plan.

"Okay. Lean on me and let's try to stand up. Not so fast!"

With Jack's help she stood up, feeling slightly dizzy after all the breathing she did with Hurley. The doctor gently ushered her in the direction of the room.

"I don't want to lie down. I feel fine," she informed Jack hoping that he wouldn't force her to come back the metal room. It was small and cramped. It reminded her of something.

"Can we sit in one of the armchairs?" she asked looking at Jack and Hurley who managed to stand up by the time.

"Sure," Jack answered and changed direction. He looked back at John and Ana asking them silently to wait in the kitchen. They would be able to listen without interfering. Ana was clearly having hard time doing just that. Her mouth turned into a flat line but she nodded her agreement.


End file.
